TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. and DAYTON, Ohio, October 20, 2016 — Two leading pediatric clinics are using technology to improve the experience of their small patients and parents. Stanford Children’s Health and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have employed Versus Advantages™ Clinic, powered by real-time locating system (RTLS) technology, to improve patient flow and expedite visits.
Taking children to the doctor can be stressful on both the child and parents, especially during the waiting phase. A long wait in a crowded room of potentially contagious or crying children can try the patience of even the most seasoned parents and clinic staff.
At Stanford Children’s Health Specialty Services in Sunnyvale, Calif., the sheer size of the facility makes it important to efficiently locate patients, staff and other assets. The clinic offers more than 20 subspecialties in a two-story, 77,000-square-foot facility. The new facility went live with Versus in May. Both wireless and wired RTLS sensors, installed by Versus Gold System Integrator Comtel Systems Technology, monitor patient wait and alone times, patient-staff interactions, room utilization and more.
At the Dana-Farber Jimmy Fund Clinic (JFC) in Boston, Mass., pediatric cancer patients and their families spend a significant amount of time in the clinic receiving complex treatment. Understandably, these families don’t want to spend time unnecessarily. The pediatric clinic sits next door to the 15-floor Yawkey Center for Cancer Care which has used the Advantages™ Clinic patient flow system since 2011. Dana-Farber is expanding Versus into the JFC during a phased roll-out that begins in December.
In both facilities, patients may have multiple appointments with several providers, and Advantages is key to giving the entire care team visibility into the overall patient visit. Automated electronic white boards display patient appointment times — via an integration with the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) — as well as the patient’s current location, wait time, alone time, and overall length of stay.
Because patients, staff and providers all wear locating badges, the white boards also automatically communicate whether the patient has seen necessary staff, such as medical assistants or technicians, then alerts the care team when the patient is ready for the next stage of care. These workflow cues help all caregivers productively manage their time, efficiently progressing the patient visit.
At the Sunnyvale clinic, patient satisfaction scores are among the highest in the Stanford Children’s Health Specialty Services network. In a recent RFID Journal article, Lee Kwiatkowski, Stanford Children's Health's director of ambulatory transformation, attributes the high satisfaction in large part to the efficiency that Versus Advantages provides.
While Advantages assists with communication in the moment, it is also collecting a wealth of operational data behind the scenes. Dana-Farber, for example, used the data to reveal how often exam rooms were underutilized within another department. As Dr. Craig Bunnell, CMO Dana-Farber, told Healthcare Technology Management, the data pointed to workflow improvements that ultimately increased capacity by 10 percent. Dana-Farber hopes to similarly use Advantages to improve workflow and to increase patient and provider satisfaction in the JFC.
To improve workflow, increase capacity, and enhance both provider and patient satisfaction with RTLS, highly accurate location data must be combined with effective software and analytics. In a recent report from the research firm KLAS, Versus received the highest rating among vendors that provide both hardware and software. Versus also received the highest rating for location accuracy, as well as for many other categories.1 For more on the KLAS report, visit versustech.com/KLAS.
Midmark Corporation acquired Versus Technology, Inc. in May, 2016, creating a unique offering of clinical workflow solutions that encompass clinical workflow services, RTLS technology, medical equipment, diagnostic devices and design assistance for improved efficiency within health systems.
1 Source: “Real-time Location Systems (RTLS) 2016,” July 2016. © 2016 KLAS Enterprises, LLC. All rights reserved. www.KLASresearch.com.
About Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
From achieving the first remissions in childhood cancer with chemotherapy in 1948, to developing the very latest new therapies, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is one of the world’s leading centers of cancer research and treatment. It is the only center ranked in the top 4 of U.S. News and World Report’s Best Hospitals for both adult and pediatric cancer care. Dana-Farber sits at the center of a wide range of collaborative efforts to reduce the burden of cancer through scientific inquiry, clinical care, education, community engagement, and advocacy. Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center provides the latest in cancer care for adults; Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center for children. The Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center unites the cancer research efforts of five Harvard academic medical centers and two graduate schools, while Dana-Farber Community Cancer Care provides high quality cancer treatment in communities outside Boston’s Longwood Medical Area. Dana-Farber is dedicated to a unique 50/50 balance between cancer research and care, and much of the Institute’s work is dedicated to translating the results of its discovery into new treatments for patients in Boston, and around the world.
About Comtel Systems Technology
Established in 1982, Comtel Systems Technology specializes in advanced systems for: Hospital and Healthcare Facilities, Educational Complexes, as well as Industrial and Commercial Facilities. Located in the heart of the Silicon Valley, Comtel has proudly been serving the Northern California area for over 30 years. Comtel is defined as a technical organization that focuses on providing design, installation, training and on-going maintenance for a wide range of electronic systems. To learn more about Comtel Systems Technology, please visit comtelsys.com.
About Versus Technology, Inc.
Versus Technology, Inc., a Midmark company, provides healthcare facilities with operational and clinical workflow intelligence using real-time locating system (RTLS) technology. Since its inception in 1988, more than 850 hospitals, clinics and senior care facilities have used Versus solutions to support healthcare’s ultimate goals: enhancing the patient experience while providing high-quality care at lower costs. With enterprise solutions for patient tracking, workflow automation, staff safety, hand hygiene and asset tracking, Versus improves patient flow, communication, and productivity to ultimately increase capacity. To learn more about Versus Technology, Inc., our technology and client successes, visit versustech.com.
About Midmark
Midmark Corporation, a privately held company founded in 1915, is committed to providing innovative products and workflow solutions to healthcare professionals around the world. Offering full lines of exam and procedures tables, as well as workstations, casework, instrument processing, digital diagnostics solutions, real-time locating system (RTLS) technology and more. Midmark is focused on continuously improving physician workflows and enhancing patient-caregiver interactions. Midmark’s more than 1,500 teammates worldwide are dedicated to redefining the future of the clinical space and making a positive difference in the practice of healthcare. Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, Midmark maintains production and administrative offices in Versailles, Ohio, as well as six other locations in the United States and international locations in India, Italy and the United Kingdom. To learn more about Midmark, visit midmark.com, and follow Midmark on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.