Time is of the essence in cancer care. How do you ensure your patients and clinicians get the most out of their care experience?
With more than 1.8 million Americans diagnosed with cancer this year,coordinating care for a growing oncology population is no easy task. According to the Association of Community Cancer Centers, 75 percent of cancer program leadership cited workflow inefficiencies as the most concerning bottleneck to patient care delivery. In the highly emotional and time-sensitive treatment of cancer patients, an inefficient patient flow can negatively impact patients and caregivers.
Enhance patient flow
Five of the top 12 cancer centers in the United States use real-time locating system (RTLS) solutions from Midmark to optimize patient flow, reduce stress on care teams, and provide extra safety for patients and staff alike. RTLS is like GPS for the indoors — a system that displays the real-time locations of people and things on a map (or list). Badges worn by people and tags affixed to equipment communicate with a sensory network of receivers installed throughout a facility. Depending on the accuracy of the RTLS technology, the reported location can either be general (“1st Floor”) or more precise (“Infusion Chair 2”).
Design a better patient experience
Cancer centers that implement Midmark RTLS’s patient flow optimization can tell instantly how long each patient has been waiting, what stages of care they’ve completed, who’s already seen them, and who may need to see them next. This information keeps patient visits progressing smoothly and helps to reduce patient and staff frustration. Midmark RTLS provides chair-level locating with minimal hardware, allowing cancer centers to monitor infusion length, staff interaction, and chair utilization.
Boost care team collaboration and safety
A visit to a cancer center involves multiple appointments, which can run long or short and can be changed at any time. Midmark RTLS provides oncology staff with the patient’s current stage and location, enabling them to adapt and communicate proactively if the patient has fallen behind schedule. Effective communication is especially important during chemotherapy, helping to reduce the waste of medication that is mixed before the patient is ready to receive treatment. Another safety benefit is automated contact tracing — using location data to quickly identify who may have come into contact with a contagion.
Increase capacity
Midmark’s patient flow optimization solution improves workflow efficiency and communication at top cancer centers as well as community cancer centers. One leading cancer center in Boston optimized workflows with Midmark RTLS and increased capacity by 10 percent without adding physical space. With better efficiency and communication comes the ability to impact more patients’ lives and provide the highest standard of care. Details on how Midmark RTLS has improved patient flow and satisfaction can be found at midmark.com/oncology.