Wybren de Graaf, head of the Logistics Department of Antonius Hospital Sneek-Emmeloord , was, with 'his' hospital, one of the first hospitals that successfully implemented the registration pillars, also called self-service kiosks. In this customer story he tells about the ambitions and challenges of this project.
(by Wybren de Graaf)
The Antonius Hospital Sneek-Emmeloord wants to excel in the field of logistics and services for patients. That's why, as part of a project to optimise outpatient clinics, it has introduced self-service kiosks. One big lesson can be learned from this - there is more to it than just building some kiosks, it is a real process of change.
In addition to providing services to the patient, the Antonius Hospital Sneek-Emmeloord also wanted to help the outpatient clinics with the sign-in kiosks. Because patients themselves can change their personal details in HiX - their EPR - via the kiosk and see the current waiting times at the outpatient clinic, the desk staff are given more time to focus on other activities.
However, it's not the case that you can just buy a kiosk and then you're done. A registration kiosk requires a lot of effort from the ICT department, but also, for example, from the facilities department, which had to adjust the routing, sign posts and layout of the central hall. But perhaps the biggest challenge is in the workplace itself. The eighteen outpatient clinics of the hospital all used different registration processes. You can never "capture" this in a self-service kiosk. So you first have to map all those processes and reduce them to one method.
Key users
We did this by searching for initiators at every outpatient clinic. These "key users", which form the bridge between ICT and the work floor, have gone through all the processes, compared them and adapted them. As time went by, the processes became more uniform and became completely the same at the outpatient clinics. As a result, there is now one uniform registration process.
Within the ICT, Process, Communication, Volunteers and Facility Service groups, medical specialists were also consulted on the desired method. The project had minimal impact on the specialists' work; now they only have to record the arrival of their patient in HiX as an additional action. Some specialists already did that, so nothing changed for them.
Small outpatient clinics
What also became apparent through the project is that certain outpatient clinics became very vulnerable due to the number of process optimisations and digitisation attempts. Then, for example, there was only one employee for the front office and one for the back office. Those outpatient clinics became too vulnerable. If someone got sick or went on holiday, a problem would arise. That is why it was examined whether certain outpatient clinics could work together to get better coverage. A number of outpatient clinics are now working together.
Test day
A test day was then held with all front office police employees, client council and volunteers. Around 150 employees devised and ran scenarios themselves. They registered as a patient and filled the role of employee. Everyone could log in with their own driving licence or ID and fill in their own details. Because everyone was so well prepared, the outpatient clinics could continue to operate normally and the office hours did not have to be adjusted.
Big change
The experiences so far have generally been very good. Patients think it's lovely, clear and are happy with the waiting times shown; for them it is also a big change. It is quieter at the desks, so employees have more time for patients who still come to the counter during office hours. Around a thousand patients use the kiosks every day. The kiosks have really become a critical part of the business process with us and receive the appropriate attention. We are very happy with the result, but you have to take into account many more things than you think in advance.
