Case Study
This military healthcare center is considered a leading institution. They offer a range of military health services including primary care, hospital and urgent care, mental health services, dental, pharmacy, and vision.
The Challenge
With a future vision for patient flow and experience that could not be met with the incumbent system, this military medical center required a Queue Management system that could enable their plans. Crowded waiting rooms, an outdated system, and a disorganized patient data architecture led to unnecessary time being spent on tasks and building inefficiency within the facility. They needed a modernized system that added new functionalities to improve the patient experience (PX), prioritization, data tracking, and patient flow. Further, they needed to integrate with an appointment system that enabled virtual check-ins, overall creating a seamless end-to-end patient journey.
The Solution
ACF’s healthcare team worked with this Military Treatment Facility to implement an enterprise Patient Flow system, using the Q-Flow platform. ACF integrated a unit-by-unit deployment, replacing the old system through a seamless switchover, creating no gap in service time for their medical facility. This new solution would achieve the following goals and leverage the Q-Flow ATO (Authorization to Operate) to meet all security requirements:
- Integrate with existing Electronic Health Record (EHR) system for patient and appointment look-up and check-in.
- Improve the patient experience by offering a more modernized patient flow system.
- Reduce patient wait times and increase patient throughput.
- Increase the efficiency of clinical teams to manage patient workloads.
- Drive operational efficiencies to create incremental cost savings.
- Empower clinical teams with new user interface features (patient routing & reporting).
- Increase visibility and accuracy of data insights and workflow analytics to team managers, and command leadership locally and enterprise-wide.
- Ongoing enterprise solution support covering primary business hours.
Solution Features
Q-Flow Queue Management & User Interface
The Q-Flow Queue Management System at the medical center is seamlessly integrated with the hospital's Electronic Health Records (EHR) system, enabling a comprehensive view of appointments, and facilitating the check-in process. This integration allows for real-time patient look-up, providing access to crucial patient and appointment data.
With a user-friendly web interface with a multitude of functionalities, staff can efficiently monitor patient status, including their assigned medical provider and expected arrival time. This empowers staff members to stay well-informed and deliver personalized care.
Check-in Kiosk
Upon arrival, patients have the option to check themselves in by simply scanning the barcode on their Department of Defense (DoD) Common Access Card, which serves as their identification. Once this step is completed, the kiosk generates a printed ticket or sends an SMS notification if necessary.
Documentation Printing
Once the patient completes the check-in process, a customized form specific to their medical needs will be printed on demand. This form will be sent directly to the reception area and can be generated automatically based on the check-in status, incoming calls, or patient transfers. Throughout the entire process, there are timestamps to track each step accurately. Following the completion of the form, patients will be guided to a designated waiting area.
Q-Flow Reports & Insights
Administrators and managers have access to insightful reports that provide a real-time overview of the business's performance. These reports encompass various key metrics such as the total number of appointments booked and served, average service times, comparisons of service level agreements (SLAs), and the percentage of calendar utilization within a specified time frame.
By utilizing these reports, administrators and managers gain valuable insights into the operational efficiency and productivity of the business. This data enables them to make informed decisions and take necessary actions to optimize performance.
Automated SMS Communications
SMS messaging serves as a communication bridge with patients, giving them updates and real-time knowledge of their progress throughout the entire duration of their visit. Whether it is for checking in as a customer or confirming their appointment, the Q-Anywhere system enables seamless communication between the hospital and the patients, enhancing their overall experience.
Reporting and Questionnaire Module:
Through this module, this Military Medical Center can effectively gather customer feedback and insights by utilizing the kiosk's questionnaire functionality. The kiosk ensures a streamlined process for survey administration and data collection, facilitating the hospital's research initiatives and enabling the gathering of valuable insights from the patient population.
Support & Account Management
ACF Technologies supports the medical facility with any issues that may arise and arrange quarterly account meetings to ensure the system evolves in alignment to the facilities vision. ACF will monitor the MAAGS consistently through Splunk to ensure server management is good.
The Results
Through a collaborative effort between ACF and this Military treatment Facility, a seamless transition to Q-Flow was successfully achieved. The adoption of this new system brought several benefits
to the facility, including:
- Reduced the average booking time and streamlined the appointment booking process for improved efficiency.
- Increased overall staff efficiency in managing and serving appointments, allowing them to allocate their time more effectively.
- Improved staff satisfaction with the new booking system, as it enhanced their workflow and productivity.
- Enhanced visibility of data and insights through the comprehensive reporting suite, enabling better decision-making based on accurate information.
- Heightened overall customer satisfaction with the appointment booking journeys, resulting in a positive experience for patients far smoother citizen experience.
The successful collaboration between ACF and this military healthcare center has yielded remarkable results, empowering the hospital to deliver enhanced services and improve various aspects of their operations.
Want to know more?
Is your organization crying out for the kind of queue management system that’s transformed this government agency's wait-time problems?
We are more than happy to investigate how we can work with you to transform your customers’ experiences every time they interact with your organization and dramatically increase your operational performance. Our experts value the opportunity to combine their knowledge and experience with technology that enables an improved journey design and optimal customer experience. 
