Data-driven leadership: York Hospital tracks and improves patient loyalty
York Hospital, located just across the New Hampshire border, stands as the first hospital system upon entering Maine. Medical staff serve the main hospital campus in York, along with seven community sites throughout Southern Maine. York Hospital initially partnered with Solv in response to Maine’s COVID-19 testing mandate for all individuals entering the state. However, what began as a means to facilitate online availability for testing, expanded to vaccine administration and a full rollout to all walk-in centers across York Hospital.
Key Results
Lowered door-door-time to 53 minute average
increased patient volume by 25 patients per clinic per month
“ Walk-In Care at York Hospital sees more new patients than any other service line, we are truly the “front door” so to speak, while our partnership with Solv helps us deliver a better experience.” –Erich Fogg, Director of Walk-In Services
Challenge
Prior to partnering with Solv, York Hospital relied on a combination of technologies to meet their walk-in clinics' various needs— including ClockwiseMD to offer online appointments and SNAP to offer telehealth. However, both lacked basic functionality, like digital paperwork and easy-to-use online availability. As a result, they found low patient utilization numbers, and staff experienced difficulty from multiple cumbersome systems along with varying degrees of customer support.
Director of Walk-in Services, Erich Fogg, PA-C, had to navigate multiple databases to gather data points like length of stay, overall throughput, and wait times for his department. The cost and effort to build the actionable reports he needed, proved prohibitive. By partnering with Solv for York Hospital’s walk-in clinics, the hospital aimed to streamline operations, reduce cost, obtain actionable comprehensive metrics, attract new patients, and receive immediate and effective customer support when necessary.
Geographic Area: Southern Maine
Clinics: 7 Community Sites
Solution
On an organizational level, understanding patient leakage, and the causes associated with it, are essential. While many initiatives designed to mitigate leakage are spread throughout the hospital, Dina Dellapasqua, the administrator of walk-in services, is focused on providing the best overall patient experience for new and existing patients.
With Solv, patients can view walk-in availability and book times at any of the walk-in clinics, allowing York Hospital to attract both local patients and summer tourists looking for same-day care.
Through collaboration with Solv, York Hospital Urgent Care continues to serve as a front door by connecting patients to other York Hospital services, such as primary care and specialist consultations.
“Solv helps us attract new patients and track those patients' behaviors. This is important because we are committed to providing a positive first encounter, ultimately encouraging these new patients to continue any future care within the York Hospital system.”
– Dina Dellapasqua, Administrator, Walk-In Services
Results
As York Hospital strives to remove the friction from access to care, Solv’s data has become instrumental in its ability to track performance. York Hospital is now using Solv data to help inform a new incentive program for providers based on “door-to-door” time performance.
By continuously improving the patient experience, the walk-in clinics have increased overall positive patient reviews, patient loyalty, while welcoming a steady flow of new patients.
“What made us fall in love with Solv at first, was the customer service.”
– Erich Fogg, PA-C, Director of Walk-In Services
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