With an aging population, health care facilities and organizations across the country are experiencing record increases in patient volumes. In 2018, the Division of Cardiology at an Academic Medical Center* located on the west coast brought on eHealth Technologies to help improve efficiencies and keep pace with increasing demand. Widely known for its highly specialized treatment, research, and clinical trials, this Cardiology Department has experienced a tremendous uptick in patient appointments over the past few years.
The Department’s biggest challenge was the enormous amount of time the staff spent tracking down historical files—EKGs and other records. Many of the Department’s cardiology appointments come in as referrals or are patients seeking a second opinion on a diagnosis. Records were often coming through in the form of faded faxes and photocopies or on a CD. Many times, portions of records were missing altogether.
“Some of our patients have had heart conditions since childhood, meaning there are a lot of records from various doctor’s offices and organizations—sometimes decades old— to track down,” explains the manager of Cardiovascular Operations. “It’s a huge undertaking.”
This busy Cardiology Department now relies on eHealth Technologies to collect incoming patient records and organize them into a consistent and searchable format. Through eHealth Connect Record Retrieval, staff are no longer burdened with gathering patient records. And with the eHealth Connect Intelligent Clinical Record, they are receiving records in a consistent, organized, and searchable format.
Reliability and Confidence
eHealth Technologies specializes in retrieving medical records, images, and pathology slides from disparate systems to provide all relevant clinical information for referred patients—even if a patient has records from multiple offices in many locations. Records are delivered reliably in an intelligently organized format directly into an EMR or PACS. This ensures efficiency and accuracy, making it possible for clinicians to complete record reviews faster.
According to the client, eHealth Connect Record Retrieval and eHealth Connect Intelligent Clinical Record have brought significant relief to staff, who can confidently anticipate receiving records on time. They can book patient appointments knowing that records will be available and delivered in a correct, usable format.
“eHealth Technologies has been an important part of our rapid growth. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to keep up with the volumes.”
Manager of Cardiovascular Operations
Freed from the time-consuming burden of gathering records, staff members are now able to focus on bringing in new patients, scheduling follow up visits, and spending time answering patient questions. Another benefit: the Department’s phone call abandon rate has decreased significantly.
Double Digit Growth
This all comes at a time when the Cardiology Department has experienced a significant volume increases for new patient appointments over the past two years.
“eHealth Technologies has been an important part of our rapid growth. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to keep up with the volumes,” the manager points out.
In fact, since partnering with eHealth Technologies, the Cardiology Department has been able to grow–scheduling patient appointments an average of five days sooner than in the past.
A Win-Win for Staff and Patients
Both patient and staff satisfaction rates are at an all-time high.
“Our staff is sold on eHealth, there’s no going back now,” the manager says, noting that the Department’s work environment has significantly improved and staff have more time to work directly with patients.
Without eHealth, she points out, the Department’s rapid growth would have resulted in frustrated staff members with higher workloads.
A Future Together
eHealth Technologies’ knowledge and experience from working with top health care organizations across the country has been an important asset for this client.
“The eHealth Technologies team helps us think through our needs and makes suggestions for improvements. Because they work with many top organizations, they have the insight and ability to make recommendations that help improve efficiency,” she comments. “And they listen. They really are flexible partners.”
Based on its success to date, the Cardiology Department hopes to continue to improve efficiencies through ongoing collaboration with eHealth Technologies.
“We are looking forward to future projects with eHealth. We see the value in working with them every day,” says the operations manager.
“Working with eHealth Technologies is really such a relief. Staff are confident about receiving records on time and booking patient appointments knowing records will be available and in a correct, usable format.”
Manager of Cardiovascular Operations
* Division of Cardiology at an Academic Medical Center: eHealth Technologies shares success stories while protecting the confidentiality of our clients as needed in a competitive business environment
