Solution in sight
We'd still get the job done, but
the mad scramble that was
sometimes required to get a
patient to the OR was unnec-
essary. Our team of staff and
physicians sought to achieve
100% chart readiness by 6
p.m. on the night before sur-
gery. Three improvements
would help us reach that goal.
1. Standardizing the work. We met
with surgeons' office man-
agers to develop a standard
pre-procedure order form and
to ensure they'd all complete it
the same way with the same
information in the same
places. (Note: You get a lot of volunteers to help you reach your
process goals if you provide lunch.) Before we were done, the PDF file
saw 25 revisions, each of which was reviewed by our PAT nurse.
2. Making progress visual. Information needs to be collected within a cer-
tain time frame to prepare a chart, and a patient, for surgery. We built
an interactive internal website, the PAT Tracker, so all the players in
the process can monitor what information is missing in real time, at
any time.
3. Communicating completion. Automated daily backlog reports with hyper-
links to the website's case details are
e-mailed internally to alert physicians and staff to missing informa-
tion. HIPAA concerns prevent us from granting website access to
1 1 2 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • M A Y 2 0 1 6
When patients' charts
are preventing on-time
starts, you need to
rethink your workflow.
Edward
Conklin,
CRCST,
CHL
