9 Proven Ways TigerConnect Makes Life Better for Patients

In TigerConnect’s eBook, The Big Easy Win, we identified 16 key metrics that are improved by the implementation of a Clinical Communication & Collaboration (CC&C) solution like TigerConnect. This post focuses on nine metrics from that list that make life better for the injured and ill who come to you for healthcare services.

But rather than us telling you about the transformations you can expect when your hospital adopts a CC&C solution like TigerConnect, we’re going to let your peers tell their stories. Because we think their experiences are the most compelling proof we can offer.

Here are the nine ways TigerConnect helps various hospitals help their patients … and how TigerConnect can help you help your patients.

1. Shorter Communication Delays
This is all about reducing the time spent waiting for answers to clinical questions. And it’s about leveraging the device that nearly every clinician carries with them at all times. TigerConnect leverages these circumstances to dramatically reduce time delays that exist with email, voicemail, paging, and EHR in-box messages. It also leverages our culture’s attentiveness and responsiveness to text messaging over other communication choices.

“The Emergency physicians order many, many radiology studies — X-Rays, Cat Scans, MRIs — and if there were any abnormalities, they’d have to call back and the Radiologist is put on hold. With TigerConnect, there is no waiting anymore.”
– Nhat Tran, CMIO at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, California

“TigerConnect’s scheduling automation is having a positive impact on the way our physicians communicate. By integrating with our scheduling system, patient handoffs are getting smoother and consult requests happen faster. Most importantly, now we have a tool that gives us confidence that our messages get to the right physician securely and easily.”
– Dr. Iqbal at Meritus Health in Hagerstown, Maryland

At Waterbury Hospital, the average turnaround for physician consults was 1.5 days. “Once we implemented this process and got several physicians on board with it, it was much more streamlined. The result was that we reduced the turnaround time from one and a half days to 0.68 days.”
– Waterbury Hospital in Waterbury, Connecticut

2. Faster Clinical Decisions
Once again, because people tend to be more attentive and responsive to text messages, TigerConnect helps clinicians get answers faster than other communication methods, so it takes less time to place orders, get results, and decide next steps.

“A hospitalist in the old world used to page the doctor and then have to sit by the phone and wait for the doctor to call him back, which might be 30 seconds, or it might be eight minutes later.”
– Peter Carey, MD, Chief of Surgery at Mary Washington Healthcare in Fredericksburg, Virginia

“I’ve had the opportunity to be consulted, even when I’m off-campus, and still manage to give insight or guidance on patient care [using TigerConnect].”
– Ernie Guzman, MD, Program Director, Pediatric Residency at White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles

“We have the ability to send reasonably large image files today, which is very important to some of our surgeons to be able to see the actual picture of the problem that they have to deal with.”
– Andrew Deutsch, MD, Diagnostic Radiologist and President at Renaissance Imaging Medical Associates in Northridge, California

3. Faster Prescription Delivery
“I’d estimate that since we started using TigerConnect we’re filling prescriptions 50% faster.”
– Ngoc Tran, Pharmacy Manager at Carvajal Pharmacy in San Antonio

4. Better Safety
“TigerConnect is just the solution we needed to help us coordinate care in a seamless, effective manner and improve overall workflow, ultimately helping to enhance our patients’ safety and satisfaction.”
– Martin Fee MD, Chief Medical Information Officer at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, California

5. Quicker Transfers and Discharges
Westchester Medical Center Health Network significantly reduced the transfer time between its emergency department and its 10 hospitals by eliminating the call center intermediary and allowing providers to directly share patient information on a secure, HIPAA-compliant mobile clinical communication platform.

“TigerConnect mimics the existing workflow of a hospital. We strongly feel that we’re not inventing anything new. You never want your technology to invent a new process. You want your technology to make your process work better, which TigerConnect does.”
– Jonathan Berkowitz, M.D., Medical Director, Interfacility Transfer, Regional Emergency Services, and Disaster Medicine

“Before the implementation of TigerConnect, from the time a patient was discharged to the time the patient actually leaves the floor, it was around six to eight hours. After implementation of TigerConnect, that time has decreased by two to three hours.”
– Dr. Meena Iyer, Medical Director at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas

6. Shorter Stays
“I compared the patients that had gotten consults for these groups [cardiology, pulmonology, and GI], and before TigerConnect, these patients had an average length of stay of 7.75 days, and afterwards it went down to just under 6 days.”
– Waterbury Hospital in Waterbury, Connecticut

7. Higher Satisfaction
“One of the best ways to drive patient satisfaction is to improve staff satisfaction and staff efficiency. If you can get the doctors and the other staff off the phone and get them back to the bedside, everyone’s happier.”
– Ivan Miller, MD, Medical Director, Dept of Emergency Medicine at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, New York

“Immediate delivery means immediate action, yet missed pages left 5% of patient concerns unattended. TigerConnect eliminated lost message errors which translated to increased patient satisfaction.”
– Robert T., CIO, El Rio Community Health Center

At San Joaquin General Hospital, hundreds of patients were admitted, seen, and discharged every day. Nurses relied heavily on the overhead paging system to alert doctors and relay critical messages to staff. This was creating a disruptive environment for patients, and also negatively impacting the hospital’s HCAHPS score.

“TigerConnect helped us significantly reduce overhead noise and streamline our everyday communication. We are enthused that our use of TigerConnect has been matched by a subsequent improvement in our HCAHPS score regarding the noise levels in several patient areas of our hospital.”
– Don Johnson, CIO at San Joaquin General Hospital in French Camp, California

8. Fewer Readmissions
“What we noticed in the first quarter of using TigerConnect, we saw an 8.8% drop in our COPD readmission rates, and a 22.2% drop in our CHF readmission rates. Within three months. That was pretty amazing. Not using any more employees. These are the same people that had been doing these jobs. We just were doing it now more effectively.”
– Maryann Lauletta MD, VP Operations at Kennedy Health in Cherry Hill, New Jersey

“Our readmission rates are running about 3%, compared to the statewide average, which is 12% to 15%, and TigerConnect has been a key ingredient in helping to support that.”
– Faron Thompson, Chief Operating Officer at Scottsdale Health Partners in Scottsdale, Arizona

9. Better Outcomes
When you put all that together … the shorter delays and faster clinical decision-making … the better safety and faster transfer and discharge processes … well, it all points to better outcomes. Better lives for your patients.

“With TigerConnect, our physicians are now able to communicate patient information in a secure and protected environment across all of our organizations, enabling us to provide consistent, high-quality care.”
– Rocco Orlando, M.D., Sr. Vice President & Chief Medical Officer

Could Your Patients Use Some of These Benefits?
CC&C solutions bring a noticeable jump in the speed, quality, and efficiency of patient care delivery. If you’d like to learn more about how your patients can experience these benefits, we invite you to contact us today.

Tags: Workflow Management, Clinical Communications, Clinical Workflows, Care Team Collaboration, Improve Patient Outcomes