The opening of a new hospital in Hardenberg was the motivation for a thorough review of the planning and reception process. The new method is primarily more privacy friendly.
The foundations for Saxenburgh were laid at the beginning of the twentieth century thanks to an inheritance. This made it possible to build hospitals in Hardenberg and Coevorden. The two hospitals, now renamed Saxenburgh, merged in 1980 and continued under the name, Stichting Streekziekenhuis Coevorden-Hardenberg. Saxenburgh is currently the provider of a complete package of basic healthcare facilities in hospital care, elderly care, rehabilitation care and home care.
The new Saxenburgh Medical Centre in Hardenberg opened its doors to the public in September 2020. The new hospital features an Acute Centre with Emergency Services and an adjacent Huisartsenpost (doctor’s surgery), a fully-fledged IC and a Woman-Child Centre with, among other things, a birth pool. The hospital invested heavily in brand new, high-quality diagnostic equipment. The new building was also a good reason for reviewing the planning process.
Solution
The abolition of the patient chart, in the summer of 2020, was a first step in the modification of the reception process. To make an appointment with the polyclinic, patients must now first check in with a valid identity document. Patients are also able to check their personal data at the digital service point.
Once their data have been confirmed, the patient receives a ticket with instructions about the appointment(s) and the route(s) to follow to the location. The patient can use the ticket to check in at the digital check-in point in the waiting area. The patient is then called to the applicable room via service screens. In the past, all patients were called in by name. “This was not exactly privacy-friendly,” says Richard Olijve, the ICT coordinator at the hospital.
Saxenburgh joined forces with Logis.P in 2009 to implement a central patient check-in system. The guiding principles in that regard were: good, hospitable and safe. Logis.P was again selected to cooperate on the new hospital. “From a practical point of view, this was a logical step, as we were satisfied with the existing system,” says Olijve.
- Information about waiting times
- Also for the Emergency department
- Enhanced patient satisfaction
“Patient satisfaction increased quite dramatically after implementation,” Olijve confirms. “Not only thanks to improved navigation of the new building, but also due to the fact that the patients are now effectively guided and optimally informed about their waiting times and possible delays in their appointments.”
Olijve - Saxenburgh
Implementation
Preparations for the test phase started in January 2020. Despite the delays caused by the Coronavirus measures, the project was finally successfully delivered at the beginning of September 2020.
Among other things, it is now possible to provide patients with extra information, e.g. about waiting times, via screens located in the different waiting rooms. The so-called SEH module was installed in the Emergency department to retrieve information about current workload at any given time. Another novel feature that was introduced thanks to Smart Appointment is that it is now possible to check patients in for blood sampling and visits to the pharmacy.
Benefits
“Patient satisfaction increased quite dramatically after implementation,” Olijve confirms. “Not only thanks to improved navigation of the new building, but also due to the fact that the patients are now effectively guided and optimally informed about their waiting times and possible delays in their appointments.”
Logis.P is still working on further improvements to the visitor flow. The polyclinics in the polyclinic building (2005) adjacent to Hardenberg are currently being renovated and here, too, decentralised checking-in and queue management are supported by digital check-in points and screens.
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