Summary
WakeMed Health & Hospitals is a 970-bed, private, not-for-profit healthcare system based in Raleigh, North Carolina, with three hospitals located throughout the surrounding community. The flagship Raleigh Campus is a Level 1 Trauma Center and performed 17,000 Cardiac Cath & EP procedures in 2022. WakeMed’s perioperative areas have been leveraging iQueue for Operating Rooms since October 2019. After noting how iQueue for Operating Rooms streamlined general perioperative scheduling efficiencies, leading to a 15% gain in staffed room utilization and an ROI of 11x*, the Invasive Cardiology team implemented the same solution in the Cath and EP labs for Raleigh Campus and Cary Hospital. (*ROI calculated by comparing the additional net revenue from backfilled cases enabled by proactively released OR block time against the cost of the solution)
Problem
Before implementing iQueue for Operating Rooms, the Invasive Cardiology teams were receiving requests for lab time via email, fax, and phone. There was no auditable methods to manage requests into open time, and scheduling teams were often challenged. Similarly, physicians’ offices did not have visibility into availability of open time, leading to numerous time-consuming discussions to coordinate scheduling. This limited view of open time led to cases often being scheduled last minute and running well into the evening. The process of scheduling a single case involved variable, indefinite efforts from multiple personnel, contributed to staff burnout and lengthening patient wait times
Solution
In March of 2021, WakeMed implemented iQueue for Operating Rooms to streamline scheduling within their Invasive Cardiology rooms. At this time all requests for open time within WakeMed’s Cath and EP labs were consolidated within the iQueue platform. This provided schedulers with an auditable queue for all requests, while also giving offices visibility into available time that can be requested, therefore reducing denials. Additionally, by providing insight into available time, physicians were able to more proactively and efficiently schedule cases, giving ample opportunity to increase productivity and perform additional procedures.
