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Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I am a huge proponent of technology that supports and sustains designed processes. With the proper tools, NASA astronauts explore the universe and surgeons operate with unthinkable precision.

What we lose sight of sometimes is that technology is a means to an end, and the end is results.

Here at EMPATH, our mission is to achieve major operational improvements in your delivery of patient care that then increases your revenue. This quest also delivers improved physician loyalty, increased patient satisfaction, and greater staff retention. This is our focus, which does not waiver.

In this newsletter you will read about how our technology helps reduce ICU LOS, decreases staff overtime, and frees up monitored beds for patients who really need them. These are some of the best results in our industry — and ultimately our client results are the only true measurement of success or failure.


Best regards,

Michael B. Hill, MD, FACEP
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President & CEO
EMPATH Consulting

888.436.7284 ext. 5902
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Worth Repeating
"When the going gets tough,
the smart start redesigning
their processes."
Michael Hammer
Hammer and Company


Creating the transformation and achieving real results
Fundamental, dramatic improvement in the delivery of patient care requires a comprehensive change in hospital operations and culture.

Process How It Works Real Results
  • IP Critical Care Transfer Ventilator Weaning Protocol
  • Formalized pre-planning process of work activities to be completed on day patient enters CCU and on last 2 days patient is in CCU.
  • Allows staff to organize work activities and ensure patients are moved safely and efficiently to planned receiving unit.
  • Formalized frequency of ventilator weaning testing and protocol initiation
  • Identification of next day candidates takes place on the night shift during specific times
  • Key work activities completed when Intensivist arrives in the a.m.
 A client hospital in Tampa Florida has experienced a dramatic rise in patients being brought out hours earlier. Eliminated the potential for infections, Pneumothorax, and blood clots from ventilator reliance.
     
Telemetry Utilization Protocol
Formalization of patient placement on telemetry, monitoring of duration, and removal of patients who do not meet clinical indications. This process ensures the availability of monitored beds for new patients who require telemetry.
  • Physician's order must include clinical indication for use of telemetry prior to placement
  • Admitting MD must give order for telemetry on a daily basis if patient doesn't meet criteria
  • EMPATH's inpatient technology system, Census Activity Worksheet (CAW), tracks telemetry utilization, including the indication for initiation. It tracks hours and minutes until expiration of telemetry utilization.
  • A monitoring tech interfaces with the CAW on a real-time basis watching for discrepancies.
  • Charge Nurse monitors CAW and formally reviews need for continued telemetry 6 hours prior to telemetry expiration
 Our client has seen unnecessary telemetry utilization drop by 50%. Now they consolidate their telemetry monitoring and evaluate the opportunity to move some telemetry monitoring techs to other parts of the hospital.
     
Meals & Breaks
Ensures that staff can predictably and consistently take formal meals and breaks while at the same time ensuring that patients continue to receive best care.
  • Formalization includes:
  • Scheduled meal and break time
  • Sign out and sign in
  • Buddy system (coverage while you are away)
  • Charge Nurse monitors work activity and reallocates meals and breaks as needed
 Our client in North Carolina has experienced a 7% incremental decrease in overtime, freeing dollars for more patient care staff.



Huge increase in ED customer satisfaction for North Carolina hospital

EMPATH's Core Values for Caring™ program helps create a culture where excellent patient/staff relations are the norm, not the exception.

Core Values for Caring™ uses scripts to create standards for patient/staff interaction. This dramatically improves the patients' and families' experience by creating expectations, and then exceeding them.

Our client, Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, North Carolina has seen impressive results with this program. In the 2nd quarter of 2008:

    Adult ED, up from 20th to the 84th percentile

    Peds ED, up from 2nd to the 82nd percentile


See the Press Ganey data here


We couldn't have said it better ourselves!

"Our ED normally sees 300 patients per day, but recently we treated over 400 patients in just one day. Without the processes and technology that EMPATH brought to us, we would not have been able to manage that increased volume. Their expertise has definitely helped us become a much better performing ED and hospital".

— Kevin J.
Chief Operations Officer

EMPATH Inc. 1160 Brickyard Cove Road, Ste. 110 Point Richmond, CA 94801 (510) 215-6220
web: www.empath.md email: info@empath.md
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