Beyond Asset Tracking: How Location-Based Intelligence Can Provide “A Clear Line of Sight”

Before the processes of selecting and implementing a new technology can begin, one critical question must be addressed: What problem are you trying to solve?

For Oregon Medical Group (OMG), the problem was rooted in logistics; specifically, a “tiny waiting room and a lack of visibility” into the seven patient rooms of its largest facility, according to Suzanne Roelof, Director of Innovation and Care Transformation. “How do we move patients from a centralized check-in point to a room? That was our problem.” With volumes as high as 500 per day at this particular location, it’s one that traditional rooming wasn’t going to solve, she said during a recent webinar, where she was joined with her colleague Vipul Lakhani, MD, Medical Director of Quality and Patient Safety, along with Megan Butler, Clinical Solutions Advisor with Infor.

The solution, it turned out, was a platform that leverages location-based intelligence to automatically assign a room to a patient following check-in. Not only has this helped increase patient satisfaction, but by communicating information to the front desk — for example, which rooms are ready — it enables clinicians to spend more time providing care. “It’s been incredibly helpful in that regard, especially during Covid-19,” Roelof added.

It has also provided a level of visibility that didn’t previously exist, particularly at the organization’s Country Club Road facility. “It’s a unique floor plan,” said Butler. “They don’t have a clear line of sight to all of their exam rooms and nursing stations.” By implementing location-based intelligence, OMG been able to improve patient flow and utilize resources more effectively. “When you have the technology in place, it gives you the confidence to be able to maintain quality patient care and operations,” she added.

Infor seeks to achieve this with a vendor-agnostic solution that can consume different types of data — including WiFI and ultrasound, among others — and continuously automating and updating it; that way, there’s no need to for staff members to change the status of a room or document that they’re encountering a patient, Butler noted. It also integrates with enterprise asset management and CMMS solutions to send push notifications to clinicians. “Think of it not only as the software element, but how it fits with the rest of your technology suite.”

The other concern, of course, is how well users will be able to adapt, according to Lakhani. “When change is introduced, there are questions about adoption and behaviors,” he said. On the patient side, avoiding waiting rooms was well received, not surprisingly. He also found that it freed up time for back-office staff by saving the 15 seconds it takes to bring a patient into a room — although it may not seem like much, when that happens 20 times a day, it can up. “Now they can get on the phone and update a prescription while the patient is self-rooming.”

“Reassurance” through contract-tracing

Like most organizations, Oregon Medical Group experienced a sharp spike in telehealth — what Lakhani referred to as “the silver lining of Covid.” And although in-person visits have resumed, the organization remains vigilant about maintaining a safe environment for both patients and staff. One way is leveraging RTLS to identify and contain any possible outbreaks. “It allows us to contact-trace and figure out who was in which rooms, and for how long,” he added. “It was very reassuring for everybody that we could identify who had been in contact with that patient,” and from there, take the appropriate steps to stop the spread.

That ability to point to the data and “provide real information upon which to make a meaningful decision” has proven to be quite powerful for self-proclaimed “data geeks” like Lakhani, while also helping user experience immensely.

The other critical component in OMG’s Covid-19 response is focused on patients who aren’t comfortable with in-person visits, but need to be closely monitored. By creating a platform for collecting data (like glucose readings) remotely, the organization ensures patients are able to receive the care they need without putting themselves at risk.

With Infor’s platform, “the data comes to us and there’s no room for direct interaction,” said Roelof. “It’s definitely more efficient for everybody involved.”

Most importantly, it helps meet the immediate needs brought on by Covid, while also helping drive toward the ultimate goal of streamlining processes and improving workflows. “It feels like this has been the year of innovation,” she noted. The partnership with Infor “has been instrumental in helping us process all of the different challenges.”

According to Butler, it’s precisely the goal vendors like Infor hope to attain. “As we make decisions about technology, we have to think about not just the end-user experience, but also the IT experience throughout the total life cycle of procuring technology, installing it, sustaining it, and enabling future changes,” she said. “We want to partner in a way from the beginning that helps us meet your needs today and grow with you.”

To view the archive of this webinar — Achieving Business Continuity, Operational Excellence & Evolving Patient Care with Location-Based Intelligence (Sponsored by Infor) — please click here.