After partnering with Conduit Health Partners, a nonprofit integrated health system in California saw significant improvements. Read the full patient transfer center case study below.
Opportunity:
The health system, with four facilities, more than 1,200 beds and more than 210 ED visits a year, sought a more streamlined and efficient transfer process for patients with aortic dissections and for patients facing other high-risk transfer situations. The health system also sought to standardize call center protocols to better support these critical patient transfers.
The Need:
Every second counts when a patient experiences a medical emergency such as an aortic dissection. As a leading provider of heart and vascular care and other specialties, the health system recognized an opportunity to better serve members in the community requiring immediate intervention. Improved processes were needed to facilitate more timely transfers from referring hospitals turning to the health system for specialized care needs.
The Solution:
Leveraging the health system’s existing technology provided by ABOUT Healthcare, Conduit Health Partners partnered with the health system to operationalize improved transfer and call center services.
Comprised of health care leaders with strong operational backgrounds who understand the complexities of the patient transfer process, Conduit’s approach to patient navigation is built on reliable, data-driven strategies that focus on patients’ wellbeing and coordinating their timely, efficient transfer. Our team of health care professionals provided the health system the resources and expertise needed to help coordinate patient care, improve patient transfers, and facilitate direct admissions. With a continuous evaluation of metrics, Conduit helped their partner realize ongoing results, including service line growth.
Results:
The health system first partnered with Conduit during the third quarter of 2020 to streamline transfer services for patients with aortic dissections. Because of successful outcomes, services were later expanded to stroke patients who needed immediate specialized care.
Looking at 2022 through Q2 compared to 2021, the health system has seen a 61%* increase in inbound, unaffiliated transfers.
With the implementation of Conduit’s call center service that is staffed by Registered Nurses, the health system has improved transfer protocols and processes throughout the health system. Conduit responded to 12,540 calls from July 2020 to August 2022, which allowed the health system’s providers and staff to focus more time on direct patient care.
“Our referring hospitals like having a registered nurse available to discuss a patient’s transfer on a more clinical level. It promotes better patient outcomes.”
-Operations Manager of Access Center, Health System
Because of these significantly improved processes, the health system was approached to develop a collaborative agreement around neurosciences with one of their common referral partners.
“Our health system was recently asked to partner with another referring hospital for patients with neurological conditions. They directly attributed this to the more efficient processing of patients.”
-Operations Manager of Access Center, Health System
Make Improving Patient Flow in Hospitals Easier: Partner with Conduit
Conduit was designed by health care operators for health care operators. Our team knows the right questions to ask and the right processes to implement to improve patient flow while alleviating administrative burdens from hospital staff members who should be spending their time on direct patient care. Although dedicating resources to the transfer process may require an initial investment, hospitals can realize immediate benefits to their patient flow—and patient and provider satisfaction—by partnering with Conduit Health Partners.
Why Choose Conduit’s Strategies for Improving Patient Flow?
As health care leaders, we understand the ever-changing health care landscape and offer customized, cost-effective, and time-saving solutions to help your organization improve care for patients.
- Exceptional Engagement: We get to know your facilities, key resources, and those who are accepting patients based on the service line, patient diagnosis, and unit where the patient will be placed. Patients get timely access to high-quality care when every minute counts.
- Nurse-First Model: Conduit serves as the single access point for managing patient transfers with a centralized transfer communications system staffed 24/7 by registered nurses.
- Data-Driven: Health care executives need data to support strong, strategic decisions for their organizations. Conduit’s daily, monthly, and as-needed analytics provide transparency to the transfer process and arms executives with the critical information they need to make physician recruiting, service line development, and operational improvement decisions. The who, what, how, when and why of transfers becomes clear, helping leaders drive organizational success. Using analytic strategies that focus on timely, efficient care, our team will expertly manage your patient transfers, direct admissions, or consultations 24/7 so that your team can focus on its most critical role: providing high-quality patient care.
- Operational Excellence: With a keen understanding of the operational and logistical needs of emergency and inpatient departments, Conduit gives you peace of mind that your transfer processes are running smoothly.
