loyola outpatient center phlebotomy patient encounter times “hurry up and stick me!” colleen...
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![Page 1: LOYOLA OUTPATIENT CENTER PHLEBOTOMY PATIENT ENCOUNTER TIMES “Hurry Up and Stick Me!” Colleen Jarosz, Cathy Lai, Dan Post and Cathy Shipp](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022080914/56649d145503460f949e893e/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
LOYOLA OUTPATIENT CENTERPHLEBOTOMY PATIENT
ENCOUNTER TIMES
“Hurry Up and Stick Me!”
Colleen Jarosz, Cathy Lai,Dan Post and Cathy Shipp
![Page 2: LOYOLA OUTPATIENT CENTER PHLEBOTOMY PATIENT ENCOUNTER TIMES “Hurry Up and Stick Me!” Colleen Jarosz, Cathy Lai, Dan Post and Cathy Shipp](https://reader035.vdocument.in/reader035/viewer/2022080914/56649d145503460f949e893e/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Opportunity Statement and Desired Outcome
• Waiting for services is a significant patient “dis-satisfier”
• Patients and physicians perceived the “wait time” for phlebotomy in the LOC laboratory to be “too long”
• Patients routinely complained to their physician
• Time monitors by laboratory management have typically been defined as the time from registration until the completion of the phlebotomy or “Encounter Time”
GOAL: REDUCE AVERAGE PATIENT ENCOUNTER TIME BY 15%
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Most Likely Causes for Current Opportunity
• Mis-match of phlebotomist work hours (Supply) and patients presenting for service (Demand)
• Limited opportunities for changes to staffing patterns based on current hours of operation and current full time staff
• Mis-match of phlebotomists skills and job tasks – phlebotomists performing computerized test requisitioning (data entry)
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Uncontrollable Variables Affecting Encounter Time
• Patient Arrival Times – Phlebotomy is a “walk-in” service. Patients are seen without appointment
• Additional Services Required – Phlebotomy staff also perform Electrocardiograms which prolong the encounter time
• Patient Demographics – Pediatric patients generally require longer encounters
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Solutions Implemented
• Identified 7:00am – 11:00am as peak hours for patient “Demand”
• Initiated pilot program to augment staffing with temporary part time phlebotomists allowing for operation of all phlebotomy stations during peak hours
• Identified key employees with strong computer skills and redesigned workflow to allow one person to do all the computerized test requisitioning
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Monthly Encounter Times Before Process ChangeM
inut
es
Encounter Time in Minutes Mean=13.58
Jan
04
Feb 0
4
Mar
04
Apr 0
4
May
04
Jun
04
Jul 0
4
Aug 0
4
Sep 0
4
11
12
13
14
15
16
17UCL
Mean
LCL
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Monthly Encounter Times After Process Change
Min
utes
Encounter Time in Minutes New Mean=11.18
Jan
04
Feb 0
4
Mar
04
Apr 0
4
May
04
Jun
04
Jul 0
4
Aug 0
4
Sep 0
4
Oct 04
Nov 0
4
Dec 0
4
Jan
05
Feb 0
5
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17UCL
Mean
LCL
UCL
Mean
LCL
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Results and Analysis
• Workflow changes to allow one person to perform computerized test requisitioning implemented September 27, 2004
• Pilot program to augment staffing implemented October 4, 2004
• Average patient encounter time dropped from 13.6 to 11.2, a reduction of 2.6 minutes or 17.7%!
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Conclusions and Next Steps
• Coordination of “Supply” and “Demand” is critical in providing prompt service throughout the day
• The staffing pilot program proved the value of having additional staff available during the peak hours – plan to convert those temporary positions to permanent part time positions
• Investigate additional opportunities to incorporate flexible staffing patterns
• Continue to monitor