Northern Health launches Q-Flow
Today, a new patient check-in system called Q-Flow has launched in Specialist Clinics at Broadmeadows Hospital.
In the coming weeks, Q-Flow will be rolling out across the Craigieburn and Northern Hospital campuses.
Q-Flow is a patient flow management system that is designed to improve both the patient and clinician experience whilst attending Specialist Clinics.
The new check-in and billing system will help to improve patient flow, reduce waiting times for appointments and increase clinic efficiency.
Patients are able to check themselves in for their appointment via self-serve kiosks, similar to check-in kiosks at airports.
Once checked in, patients receive a printed ticket and are directed to a designated waiting area nearest to their clinic location. Using the Q-Flow system, the clinician can then call the patient directly to the clinic room through information screens that are located in the waiting areas.
Associate Program Director – Specialist Clinics (Projects), Michael Brown, says the system will help to create a more seamless experience for everyone and reduce the amount of paper-based forms required.
“Q-Flow provides the opportunity to improve the safety and effectiveness of how we run Specialist Clinics at Northern Health. It is a big change for our patients and staff and will provide a significant improvement to the overall experience in Specialist Clinics,” he says.
For patients, Q-Flow sends SMS appointment and updated referral reminders, checks Medicare eligibility, and provides patients with expected wait times.
For clinicians, Q-Flow removes the need for paper outcome slips, integrates and streamlines the use of interpreting services in clinics, ensures that all MBS billing information and appointment outcomes are actioned, provides the clinician visibility of future clinic capacity when re-booking patients, collects room utilisation data and assists scheduling of clinics.
Training dates are now available for staff. Training will take approximately 30 minutes for clinicians and up to 1 hour for reception/administration staff.
For more information about Q-Flow and training sessions, please click here.