When facing the stress and anxiety of undergoing chemotherapy, the last thing a patient needs to endure is the added frustration of a lengthy wait before receiving treatment. As part of its continuous efforts to improve the patient experience, the Segal Cancer Centre at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal has realized a major increase in efficiency by implementing EndoVault Scheduler® – a 50% reduction in waiting time from doctor’s visit to first chemotherapy session.
EndoVault Scheduler® has been undergoing beta-testing for the last few years and was unveiled last week at the meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago.
“Previous data showed that, despite our best efforts, almost 80% of our patients waited more than thirty minutes to get their chemotherapy. Now, with our new system in place, over 50% of them receive their treatments within thirty minutes of checking in, and that figure continues to improve,” said Dr. Gerald Batist, Director of the Segal Cancer Centre. “Enhancing our room efficiency – especially important during this period of austerity – has been incredibly beneficial to our patients.”
“The new system allows our nurses to spend more of their time delivering care,” said Erin Cooke, head oncology nurse at the Segal Cancer Centre. “It makes our workflow more predictable & less overwhelming by minimizing unexpected influxes of patients.”
“Moreover, they will be able to choose for themselves the available appointment time that would best suit their own agenda,” added Pierrot Mbayo, Information Technology Project Manager at the JGH.
The effort to improve scheduling emerged from patient satisfaction surveys conducted across the McGill University network by the Rossy Cancer Network, of which the Segal is a founding member. The amount of time spent waiting for treatment was regularly cited by patients as one of their most pressing issues. The Rossy Cancer Network was established to pay particular attention to assuring quality care and continuous evidence-based improvements.
“Just as anti-cancer treatments at the Segal are constantly improving and resulting in better medical outcomes for our patients, we believe that how we deliver this care is also important to the patients,” Dr. Batist added.
EndoVault® EHR, developed by EndoSoft®, has been implemented in over 700 medical institutions worldwide. However, its customization for an oncology platform is being pioneered in partnership with the Segal Cancer Centre and the IT department of the Jewish General Hospital. 80% of physicians at the center have adopted the system. The entire Centre is soon expected to become paperless and chartless within 6 months, which will further reduce costs and improve efficiency.
Specific information on EndoVault Scheduler® can be found here.
Read the published case study in McGill Health E-News here: New technology adopted by the Segal Cancer Centre has profound effect on reducing patient wait times for chemotherapy – Health e-News
About EndoSoft®
With over 25,000 clinical users worldwide and 20+ years of expertise, EndoSoft® has achieved a leadership position & a global reputation for excellence and quality. EndoSoft® offers EndoVault®, an EHR comprised of a multitude of specialty clinical modules to meet nearly every clinician’s needs, including gastroenterology, ENT, OB/GYN, pathology, orthopedics, cardiology, pain management, pulmonology, oncology, and urology. EndoVault® is the most advanced EHR on the market today, boasting Meaningful Use certification and extensive migration capabilities from all legacy systems. Numerous ASCs (ambulatory surgery centers), universities, & community hospitals, including over 60 VA & DOD hospitals, have already chosen EndoSoft® as their replacement for EndoWorks® and coined EndoSoft® as their EHR software vendor of choice.
