Recently, Will O’Connor, M.D. sat down with Dr. Shafiq Rab to talk about how Tufts Medicine, formerly Wellforce, Inc., is using TigerConnect Clinical Collaboration solutions to connect physicians, nurses, and patients for greater efficiency and care delivery. As Chief Digital Officer and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Tufts Medicine, Dr. Rab guides strategic technology projects for the geographically-dispersed health system.
With a presence stretching from Cape Cod to the New Hampshire border, Tufts Medicine has more than 2,000 physicians working across four hospitals. Tufts Medicine aims to bring together the best of academic and community care while creating a healthcare experience that is easy for patients to navigate.
Although Tufts Medicine initially was looking for a texting product, its leadership realized that a clinical communication and collaboration (CC&C) solution could help foster a culture built on the power of connection. But as Dr. Rab points out, exceptional communication isn’t just about physicians interacting amongst themselves. True healthcare collaboration occurs when all caregivers and patients – whether part of the health system’s EMR/EHR or not – can connect in real-time.
Secure Clinical Communication and Collaboration, All in One Place
Tufts Medicine also wanted a solution partner with an eye towards the future of healthcare. “As a company, TigerConnect believes in service, and it believes in making innovative products that actually help not only the health system but also the communities that it serves,” said Dr. Rab.
That spirit of serving the community is part of Tufts Medicine’s core purpose.
Building Connections Between Physicians, Caregivers, and Patients
As Dr. Rab explains, while EHRs are good tools, alone they can stand in the way of effective communication. Advanced CC&C solutions can help bridge EHR gaps. The TigerConnect Clinical Collaboration Platform has the ability to integrate with EHR systems to centralize data and workflows and seamlessly blend real-time patient information and robust communication into one, easy-to-use, mobile-friendly platform.
According to Dr. Rab, the TigerConnect Alarm Management and Event Notification product also brings significant benefits to Tufts Medicine. For example, a patient may have ventricular fibrillation (or V-fib), a dangerous type of arrhythmia that can lead to cardiac arrest if not addressed promptly. Caregivers need to act. With TigerConnect, alert notifications go out to the right people so that patients in life-threatening situations like these can get immediate attention.
Dr. Rab cites TigerConnect’s ability to support streamlined physician scheduling as another strength. Instead of cumbersome, manual processes involving spreadsheets and emails, healthcare systems can have a single source of truth for up-to-date physician schedules. Physicians can request assignments, block vacation time, and swap shifts with colleagues right from their mobile devices. TigerConnect Physician Scheduling can take provider input into account and build out schedules for up to one year with an eye towards balanced call coverage. With that approach, Wellforce can ensure adequate staffing while mitigating risks of physician burnout.
While working in healthcare will always have stressors, using TigerConnect brings much-needed simplicity to day-to-day tasks. Having a space to communicate, manage alerts, and handle scheduling all in one place alleviates the administrative burden on healthcare professionals. In Dr. Rab’s words, using TigerConnect “brings joy and ease to the workflow of caregivers.”
Empowering Seamless, Real-Time Communications
At Tufts Medicine, caregivers and physicians go the extra mile every day to serve patients. As Dr. Rab explains, “There’s only one message outside [Tufts Medicine]. We are here to serve you – with our caregivers, with our employees, and with our administrative staff. We are all here for you.”
Today, by fostering secure, real-time clinical collaboration both within the health system and outside it, TigerConnect is instrumental in helping Tufts Medicine achieve that mission.
“Any time that you want to connect, you can,” he explained. “The simple answer is TigerConenct connects.”
If you want to learn more about how Tufts Medicine improved communications with the TigerConnect Clinical Collaboration Platform, you won’t want to miss our interview with Dr. Shafiq Rab. Listen to Episode 12 of The Connected Care Team podcast for the full story.
*Wellforce announced the organization’s name change to Tufts Medicine on March 1, 2022.
Peggy Denness, is a Sr. Director of Customer Success at TigerConnect. She has over 35 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Over the past 20 years Peggy has brought her healthcare experience and knowledge of workflow to drive the successful use of technology across the care continuum. Peggy considers it a true privilege to work with clients who drive critical outcomes with TigerConnect.
