Improving the referral workflow process at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
Organisation deploys Docman to electronically workflow, manage and track all referrals
Electronic Document Management provider, Docman, has announced The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust is ready to go live with the solution to electronically workflow, manage and track all referrals.
Jayne Harper, patient access manager at the trust, said: “Managing referrals electronically in an easy-to-use system will eliminate unnecessary administrative resources by using Docman’s electronic workflows to enhance efficiency and security.
“The project will ensure our vetting process for referrals is improved, and unnecessary delays are avoided which will, in turn, reduce the referral booking time. This will ultimately improve the patient experience as the time from receipt of referral to booking of the first appointment will be reduced.
"Internal stakeholders' experience of the referrals system will improve by streamlining processes and procedures within the vetting cycle that will reduce the number of handoffs and duplication of effort.”
“The electronic capture of referrals and electronic distribution will reduce the number of missing referrals and requests for resends. It will also give a more-standardised referral management approach.”
Mohammed Ajaz, ICT project manager, added: “The main objective is to ensure our processes are effective and efficient.This will mean patients get their appointments as quickly as possible and that consultants will be able to read and process their referral letters in an organised and timely fashion.
“Our current process for managing referrals does not work for us, which made us have to create numerous workarounds. Our consultants are unhappy with the speed of this current process and the system inefficiencies. Docman RMS provides the platform for a slicker, intuitive system to solve our problems and improve our process.
“The benefits of a streamlined system are compelling: staff will have greater job satisfaction, consultants will have quick access to their referral letters, and be able to read and indicate the type of appointment or test that needs to be booked. As a result, patients will get an appointment quickly with the right consultant in the right clinic.”
The trust will also utilise Docman Hub to send and receive clinical correspondence electronically to provide a joined-up electronic process between care providers. The Docman Hub solution is used by over 100 trusts to save time and money through the electronic transfer of documentation.
The project is currently through the pilot process with the aim of going live later this month. The solution was piloted in ophthalmology, ENT and respiratory units and at a small number of GP surgeries.
