Longer wait time at healthcare facilities always add to anxiety and discomfort for the patient and it also have toll on the staff performance. Every healthcare facility, hospital, clinic or testing lab requires a highly efficient patient flow management system. Long are gone the days of paper pencil based ticketing system, even first-come first-serve queue management system also proven to become inefficient, now is the time of digital queue management system. Healthcare facilities are typically slightly different from other service sectors, as there are different levels of priorities hence a comprehensive and very effective patient flow management policy is essential. It is typical to have long waiting lines and crowded lobbies at hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities, above all you never know how much more you will have to wait. This could be very frustrating for patient and it can completely ruin patient experience.
In this blog we will discuss how healthcare facilities implement a modern digital queue management system to enhance patient flow and optimize patient wait time. The queue management system doesn’t only streamline patient flow but it can greatly enhance the staff performance as well. A queue management system is a digital tool integrated with several hardware and other IT infrastructure which enables digitalization and automation at several steps of customer journey, driving exceptionally greater efficiency and performance. In this blog we will go through several aspects of a queue management system which can be a game-changer for healthcare facilities in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and anywhere else in UAE.
What is a Patient Flow Management System?
A patient flow management system is a specialized queue management system which is exclusively designed for healthcare sector. The patient flow management or queue management system is a software-based solution which is designed to enhance the customer flow and customer experience. Healthcare facilities can implement a modern queue management system to prevent crowd formation while significantly reducing the patient wait time. When the patient doesn’t have to wait much and their entire journey is managed by an efficiency software-based system the staff’s workload is also reduced, this helps them to offer better services and focus more on important and crucial tasks, which elevate operational efficiency and service quality.
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A typical patient flow management system or queue management system consists of a ticketing mechanisms, it could be either on-site interactive self-service ticket dispensing kiosk or it could be through remote channels such as email, SMS, patient portals, smartphone apps, WhatsApp, QR Code, etc. Further comes the digital signage displays which are used to display live queuing information on large signage screens. The queuing information can also be relayed to several connected channels, such as dedicated web pages, queuing apps, customer portals, and via SMS as well. The customer calling system have audio announcements as well as integration with SMS, WhatsApp and smartphone applications which send alerts and notification to the patients.
The backend of the queue management system is a server-side application which is hosted on a server and it can be hosted online, at a cloud or at on-premises data centers. It is this application which is the actual brain of the system equipped with smart algorithms, AI (artificial intelligence) advance data collection and analytical tools and it is connected to all customer facing UIs, whether it is interactive self-service ticket dispensing kiosk, smartphone app, online customer portal, website or any other channel. Furthermore the queue management system server app also stores data and it is linked with other databases, business solutions, software and central information center of the organization.
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The backend queue management system software applications also provide administrative dashboards and control panels. The service agent or staff dashboard is designed to facilitate the work of the on-site staff who is responsible for managing the queues, waiting and reception areas. The management or branch managers also have dedicated dashboard or admin panel which provide them real-time queuing updates and reporting data. The head-office staff or higher management have their dedicated dashboards which provide monitoring and control tools for all connected facilities. The IT and system administration team also have their dashboards which are used for regular monitoring and remote maintenance.
How Queue Management System Improves Patient Flow and Operational Efficiency?
Hospitals, clinics, testing labs, doctors’ offices and other healthcare facilities are typically very busy places. Patient coming for appointments, test samples, walk-ins, emergencies, and even doctors, nurses and other staff is always rushing around, which can make the entire facility very chaotic. A digital queue management system streamline patient flows, organize everything and bring stability and order to this chaos helping everyone and making everyone’s experience less stressful. Here are some key advantages of a patient flow management system or queue management system which can ensure a satisfactory patient experience and higher operational efficiency.
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Queue Management System Shortens the Wait Time
One of the biggest advantage of a queue management system is that it can remarkably shorten the patient wait time. A queue management system comes with a smart software, which is capable of monitoring and storing statistical and analytical data and on the bases of that data along with the live queuing data it can autonomously take queuing decisions, minimizing the friction and reducing the overall wait time. Furthermore the patients are offered self-signups which gives them freedom and also eliminate human intervention, expediting the signup process. The queue management system also improves patient flow by automatically managing the entire patient journey.
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Further it enhances patient’s waiting experience by providing them the live queuing data and information. When a patient is waiting in queues, the worst thing is that they don’t know how much more time is remaining, a queue management system has in-built smart algorithms which can analyze the current patient flow and also relate it with the historical data to accurately estimate the wait time. The patients are also provided with regular and continuous updates about the ongoing queues, and are being updated to the second. These features not only minimize patient’s wait time but also reduce the stress of waiting and enhance patient experience.
Queue Management System Offers Remote Sign-in
One of the biggest advantage of a queue management system is the feature to enable patients to sign-up remotely for the queues and this is what makes it ideal for the patient flow management. Patients are provided with several integrated channels, such as mobile apps, appointment booking tools, patient portals, website, WhatsApp, SMS, QR Code, etc. and all these channels allow patients to sign-in without even being physically present at the healthcare facility. It gives them freedom to spend their time at home, or plan their trip in a way to arrive at hospital at the time of their turn. This reduce the crowd and help making everyone’s experience better.
The remote sign-in or virtual queuing is a crucial part of the customer flow management, it helps reducing the stress and it also offers more freedom to patients and more control to the staff. Furthermore it minimizes the paper work required for check-in which in itself is a big relief for the patients. The automation of signing-in also minimize human related errors and improve accuracy. While booking appointments patient can view the available slots and expected wait time, furthermore when the patients sign-in the queue management system keep sending them alerts, notifications and updated queuing information in real-time which greatly enhance patient experience.
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Queue Management System Improve Staff Performance and Operational Efficiency
In a typical healthcare establishment, the staff is usually engaged in several manual tasks, the patient sign-in and the queue management is a difficult task, it keep the staff busy. Furthermore when there is no foresight of the expected footfall, the staff could easily get overwhelmed during the peak hours. When the staff is too much busy in managing arriving patients, and signing them in, they can’t fully focus on service which deteriorate the service quality as well. However, with the queue management system most of these tasks can be managed automatically without any staff intervention.
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A queue management system effectively and efficiently sign-in patients, it can minimize and in some cases completely eliminate the paper work form the sign-in process, it manages customer flow efficiently and took a lot of workload off from the healthcare staff. This help the staff to focus on important tasks to improve patient experience and service quality. When the staff works under a balanced workload, their productivity also improves. With historical and analytical data the management can perform predictive analysis easily, which help them managing human resource more effective. A queue management system doesn’t only enhance patient experience but it can also greatly improve operational efficiency.
Queue Management System Provides Business Intelligence Data
A queue management system is a digital tool which comes with a very sophisticated backend software application. The queue management system software is built on latest and highly advanced technology which enables it to offer several features that can be very helpful for the management. A queue management system is capable of collecting the statistical and analytical data in real-time and it also provides real-time reports and updates to the management. It has capability to collect data from each and every touch point, which makes it a valuable asset. The business intelligence data collected by a queue management system can be incorporated in strategic decision making process to increase success. A queue management system keeps full record of each and every patient’s wait time, their service delivery time, and it can also monitor the staff performance.
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Furthermore the historical data help in predictive analysis and make human resource management more efficient and effective. A patient flow management system of queue management system is capable of collecting patient information in advance and relying it to the service counter, optimizing the service delivery process and it can also collect patient feedback with in-built or integrated feedback management module. The management can utilize the in-built analytical tools to extract insight and prepare reports or they can integrate the data to another management tool via integration. The business intelligence data is essential for making sound and informed decisions which help improving patient experience and several business processes in the long term.
Queue Management System Offers Flexible Third-Party Integration
The operational efficiency is a key to success, it enables businesses and organizations to produce more outcome with less resources, which drive productivity and performance. Especially at hospitals, clinics, testing labs and other healthcare facilities where efficiency and time is even more crucial, the operational efficiency is achieved by using several IT solutions, software applications and information management systems. The success lies in interconnectivity of all these different system hence the entire IT infrastructure works in an absolute harmony to enable healthcare facilities to leverage the full potential of their entire digital eco-system. This is achieved with third-party integration, also known as IoT integration which enables two or more systems to communicate with each other in real-time.
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A queue management system is built on advanced technology platforms, which enables it to offer simple, easy and very flexible third-party system integration. At any healthcare facility there could be several systems operating simultaneously, such as online channels, websites, smartphone apps, ERP system, CRM or Patient Relationship Management system, patient database, and a central information management system which could also be linked to several external systems and relevant governing bodies. A queue management system can fit in seamlessly with its ability to offer simple and easy third-party system integration via secure and easy-to-use web services or APIs. This enables queue management system to get data from other integrated system and databases and it also enables it to push data to other systems. The ability to seamlessly integrate with other systems also help healthcare facilities to offer innovative and intuitive features which can greatly enhance patient experience.
Conclusion
A patient flow management system or a queue management system is truly a very transformative and revolutionary solution for healthcare sector. It can greatly improve patient flow with superior patient experience and enhanced operational efficiency. A hospital, clinic, testing lab, doctor’s office or any healthcare facility can greatly boost their operational performance by implementing a modern queue management system. It greatly enhance patient experience by minimize patient wait time, automating several business processes and streamlining patient flow. A queue management system also enhance staff performance by offering advanced monitoring and management tools. The remote sign-in, administrative dashboards, integration with appointment booking mechanisms, and advanced business intelligence data collection tools can completely transform the entire operations.
The healthcare facilities can also customize a queue management system as per their unique business needs to further amplify its impact on patient experience and operational efficiency. In this blog we have covered several aspects of a queue management system which makes it an ideal solution to streamline patient flow and to optimize operational performance. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to implement a bespoke and cost-effective patient flow management system/queue management system for your healthcare facility, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.
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