Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare Enhances Patient Flow In Clinics With Versus RTLS

Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, an internationally recognized pediatric hospital and clinics based in St. Paul, Minn., has worked with Communications Mid America (CMA) to implement the Advantages Clinic patient flow system from Versus Technology, Inc. Gillette is using the system in two outpatient clinics and expects to expand to six clinics throughout Minnesota.

Gillette’s St. Paul Clinic has been using the system since May 2014, and its Minnetonka Clinic is expected to go live in October. Using Versus’ Real-time Locating System (RTLS) including Clearview IR-RFID Badges for patients and providers, Advantages Clinic informs Gillette providers if patients have checked in, how long they’ve been waiting, and what stages of their visit have been completed. It also provides real-time and historical reporting intelligence.

Gillette decided to implement RTLS technology in an effort to enhance patient and family satisfaction throughout a child’s clinic visit. MaryBeth Fitzgerald, outpatient clinics manager for Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, outlines the clinics’ goals: “We want to minimize our patients’ wait times and maximize the amount of time they’re interacting with providers.”

“Smart healthcare facilities are understanding the need to reduce non-value-added time during the patient visit,” underscores Jim Stilley, MHA, MBA, FACHE, CASC, Vice President of Healthcare Solutions for Versus Technology. “By reducing the time patients wait or aren’t with providers, facilities can compress schedules, not only increasing revenue through more capacity, but also providing increased access to their patients.”

Reducing wait times at Gillette is complicated by the comprehensive care their clinics provide, Fitzgerald says. “A typical visit for a Gillette patient can involve many different services and providers. We try to coordinate appointments as often as possible.” For example, in Gillette’s St. Paul Clinic, which sees more than 300 children per day, patients might spend several hours receiving rehabilitation, imaging or assistive technology services, and seeing multiple physicians.

“Sometimes visit schedules need to be adjusted on short notice,” Fitzgerald explains. “The benefit of using a system like Versus is tremendous, because it allows us this flexibility.” She adds that Gillette selected CMA and Versus because of the companies’ experience with outpatient clinics.

The Gillette clinics are also using Reports Plus Analytics, included with Advantages, to run reports on how long patients spend in direct contact with providers, a key component to patient satisfaction. Other metrics of interest include wait times, overall length of stay, and time per stage of care, which are helping to identify bottlenecks for process improvement.

CMA, a certified Strategic Partner of Versus, implemented RTLS at both the St. Paul and Minnetonka Clinics. CMA will oversee installation of four additional outpatient clinics over the next two years.

Healthcare organizations interested in improving operations with RTLS can visit the Versus booth at the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) 2014 Annual Conference, October 26-29 in Las Vegas. Or, download our educational white paper, “7 Ways RTLS Technology Increases Patient Volume and Satisfaction” at versustech.com/clinics. 

About Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare
Gillette, an independent, not-for-profit hospital and clinics, is internationally recognized for its work in the diagnosis and treatment of children and young adults who have disabilities or complex medical needs. As the nation’s first hospital devoted to the treatment of children who have disabilities, Gillette’s mission is to help children, adults and their families improve their health, achieve greater well-being, and enjoy life. For more information, visit www.gillettechildrens.org.

About Communications Mid America
Communications Mid America (CMA) is a Versus Strategic Partner located in St. Paul, Minn. CMA has more than 60 years’ experience delivering solutions to over 473 Clinics, Hospitals, Medical Office Buildings and Senior Communities. CMA provides and supports the best clinical communications systems available to healthcare facilities throughout the Midwest. Learn more at cma-ideacom.com. 

About Versus Technology, Inc.
Established in 1988, Versus Technology, Inc. specializes in real-time location systems (RTLS) for healthcare. Used by more than 700 hospitals for enterprise patient tracking, bed management, asset tracking, and nurse call automation, Versus improves patient flow and documentation of caregiver and patient interactions, while enhancing communication and efficiency. The Versus infrared (IR) and Active RFID solution is responsible for clinical-grade location and automation at hundreds of hospitals, clinics and senior living facilities worldwide. To learn more about Versus Technology, Inc. (Pink Sheets: VSTI.PK), our technology and client successes, visit versustech.com and view our RTLS Demo.