- Joined
- Nov 19, 2010
- Messages
- 55
- Reaction score
- 1
Changes will cut costs and wait times
Published : Sunday, 17 Apr 2011, 10:40 PM MDT
Hamp Porter of Grants traveled to Presbyterian's emergency room in Albuquerque on Sunday for an infection on his foot. He witnessed the changes the hospital has made first hand. After being treated by an ER doctor Porter wasn't just sent on his way, he was sent down the hall to the Patient Navigator's Office. "I was like wondering, what's a navigator?" Porter said, "They told me they're the ones that would make the appointment for me, the follow up." Scheduling follow up appointments is just one of the many things the navigator's office does.
Presbyterian has eight ‘navigators' who work 24 hours a day, seven days a week at both the main campus and the Kaseman ER in the northeast heights. The navigator's primary job is to direct ER patients who don't really have an emergency to a primary care provider or an urgent care. "It lowers the wait in the emergency room, so those patients that do have emergent issues can be seen," said patient navigator Roberta Sanchez. It also lowers the patient's bill and eventually the hospital says it will lower everyone else's too, since the high cost of emergency care is passed onto everyone else.
Here's how the program works.
Every patient that goes to the emergency room still gets a thorough screening and its during that process that a provider decides if they need to be treated at the ER or if they can be sent to a navigator instead. Providers in the emergency room said while every patient is different, for the most part they are sending people with colds, minor coughs, sore throats and minor sprains and strains to navigators.
"We have access to scheduling for all of our medical group doctors so we can schedule them an appointment," Sanchez said. Presbyterian has 491 providers in their system, that gives patients a lot of options and if patients have no insurance, it's no problem. "We're able to get them a primary care doctor as well as sending them out to an urgent care free of charge as long as they go and get the care that they need within the 72 hours," Sanchez said.
Another big part of the navigator's job is telling patients what the emergency room should be used for. Sanchez said a lot of the people who end up in her office either don't have a primary care doctor, or don't know where to go to get care. "We educate them on the emergency usage. It's very important so they don't continue to come back for a non-emergent issue," Sanchez said. The hospital started the program in July, 2010, in short 9 months; navigators have seen more than 10,000 patients.
"It's easier than 1, 2, 3," Porter said of the program, "I mean they're doing it for me, I don't have to lift a finger."
When the program first started, the idea seemed a little intimidating for ER nurse practitioner Liz Hansen. It's her job to determine if a patient should stay and be treated in the emergency room or go to the navigators. "The concern was, are they actually going to get follow up in a timely manner, are they actually going to leave here and go to where we tell them," Hansen said.
Turns out they are. Navigators said so far only three percent of all the patients who've come through these doors have come back and been navigated again. For Hamp Porter, the program took the weight of figuring out follow-up care off his shoulders. "I don't even have to make a phone call," he said, "they're going to do all that for me."
The program does cost Presbyterian money up front, but the hospital expects to save $10 to $15 million over the next five years because of it. This is one of the only programs of its kind in the country, other hospitals may give referrals but few actually set up appointments for the patients. So far the hospital said only two formal complaints have been filed with them about the Patient Navigator's Office.
Video:
http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/health/presbyterian-changing-er-operations
Published : Sunday, 17 Apr 2011, 10:40 PM MDT
- Reporter: Amanda Goodman
Hamp Porter of Grants traveled to Presbyterian's emergency room in Albuquerque on Sunday for an infection on his foot. He witnessed the changes the hospital has made first hand. After being treated by an ER doctor Porter wasn't just sent on his way, he was sent down the hall to the Patient Navigator's Office. "I was like wondering, what's a navigator?" Porter said, "They told me they're the ones that would make the appointment for me, the follow up." Scheduling follow up appointments is just one of the many things the navigator's office does.
Presbyterian has eight ‘navigators' who work 24 hours a day, seven days a week at both the main campus and the Kaseman ER in the northeast heights. The navigator's primary job is to direct ER patients who don't really have an emergency to a primary care provider or an urgent care. "It lowers the wait in the emergency room, so those patients that do have emergent issues can be seen," said patient navigator Roberta Sanchez. It also lowers the patient's bill and eventually the hospital says it will lower everyone else's too, since the high cost of emergency care is passed onto everyone else.
Here's how the program works.
Every patient that goes to the emergency room still gets a thorough screening and its during that process that a provider decides if they need to be treated at the ER or if they can be sent to a navigator instead. Providers in the emergency room said while every patient is different, for the most part they are sending people with colds, minor coughs, sore throats and minor sprains and strains to navigators.
"We have access to scheduling for all of our medical group doctors so we can schedule them an appointment," Sanchez said. Presbyterian has 491 providers in their system, that gives patients a lot of options and if patients have no insurance, it's no problem. "We're able to get them a primary care doctor as well as sending them out to an urgent care free of charge as long as they go and get the care that they need within the 72 hours," Sanchez said.
Another big part of the navigator's job is telling patients what the emergency room should be used for. Sanchez said a lot of the people who end up in her office either don't have a primary care doctor, or don't know where to go to get care. "We educate them on the emergency usage. It's very important so they don't continue to come back for a non-emergent issue," Sanchez said. The hospital started the program in July, 2010, in short 9 months; navigators have seen more than 10,000 patients.
"It's easier than 1, 2, 3," Porter said of the program, "I mean they're doing it for me, I don't have to lift a finger."
When the program first started, the idea seemed a little intimidating for ER nurse practitioner Liz Hansen. It's her job to determine if a patient should stay and be treated in the emergency room or go to the navigators. "The concern was, are they actually going to get follow up in a timely manner, are they actually going to leave here and go to where we tell them," Hansen said.
Turns out they are. Navigators said so far only three percent of all the patients who've come through these doors have come back and been navigated again. For Hamp Porter, the program took the weight of figuring out follow-up care off his shoulders. "I don't even have to make a phone call," he said, "they're going to do all that for me."
The program does cost Presbyterian money up front, but the hospital expects to save $10 to $15 million over the next five years because of it. This is one of the only programs of its kind in the country, other hospitals may give referrals but few actually set up appointments for the patients. So far the hospital said only two formal complaints have been filed with them about the Patient Navigator's Office.
Video:
http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/health/presbyterian-changing-er-operations
