Rijnstate has two hospitals and two outpatient clinics in the eastern part of The Netherlands. Their Ultrasound Services team was experiencing challenges in meeting their targeted capacity. This created waiting lists for outpatients and put pressure on their one-day inpatient service. They were also seeing an increase in the number of other parties performing initial ultrasounds which influenced their work. Philips consulting experts helped the group develop a successful ultrasound strategy for its four locations, based on their clinical, technical, and business experience in the field. They performed extensive internal and external performance assessments, provided change recommendations, and worked with a Rijnstate project team to co-create a new strategy. The ultrasound services strategy aims to increase available ultrasound capacity, improve exam consistency through ongoing professional development, and ultimately improve their market share. Rijnstate has already increased production in outpatient clinics by 30%.
With the implementation of the ‘quick win’improvements we managed to redistribute patient load to our outpatient centers. This benefits our patients as they can be scanned closer to home and at the same time our hospital can focus on inpatient- and emergency care.”
Ronald Niekel
Radiologist, Rijnstate Hospital
The Philips consultants took a holistic approach to the ultrasound services including:
Comparing optimization scenarios by their capacity increase and financial impact. Visuals take into account the different locations indicated by A, B, C, and D, and the number of ultrasound rooms per location. In total around six scenarios were created with varying working hours, staffing scenarios etc. Comparing optimization scenarios by their capacity increase and financial impact. Visuals take into account the different locations indicated by A, B, C, and D, and the number of ultrasound rooms per location. In total around six scenarios were created with varying working hours, staffing scenarios etc.
As part of the market analysis, a survey of about 300 patients provided valuable insight into their preferences. An initial hypothesis was that hospital locations are preferred over outpatient clinics.
Specific changes included:
Several “quick win” improvements have already helped streamline processes and reduce waiting times for Rijnstate Ultrasound Services. While the overall growth in Ultrasound procedures remained at roughly 5-10%, the production in the outpatient clinics increased by over 30%, effectively redistributing the patient load.
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