Enhancing Quality and Safety in a Primary Care Practice: A Strategic Phone System Upgrade Initiative
Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
7-10-2024
Abstract
In the present healthcare context, one measure of the success of a primary care practice depends on the effectiveness of the office’s phone system. Having an inefficient phone system and ineffective communication leads to negatively impacted productivity, operational costs, and morale. A quality improvement was implemented at a Jefferson outpatient primary care practice in Montgomery County. The Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model and the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) method were utilized to identify contributing factors to the failing processes within the practice site. Several improvements were achieved, including the consolidation of multiple fax and phone lines into a single channel which enabled the elimination of backlogged call volume. Hardware was upgraded which enhanced the technology to support phone traffic. Finally, a software integration into Jefferson’s electronic health record was implemented that provided visibility into data and analytics, timely reporting to support staff of schedule changes, and provided quality assessment methods to the leadership team. Initial feedback regarding the improvements was positive; however, without a champion to maintain the project, forward progress ceased.
Recommended Citation
Huynh-Sales, CSSGB, Irene, "Enhancing Quality and Safety in a Primary Care Practice: A Strategic Phone System Upgrade Initiative" (2024). Master of Science in Healthcare Quality and Safety Capstone Presentations. Presentation 90.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/ms_hqs/90
Language
English
Comments
Presentation: 55:08