Introducing the Allied Health Demand and Capacity Management Tool: A Digital Solution

We developed the Allied Health Demand and Capacity Management Tool (AHDC) on the System View platform (Healthcare Logic).

The tool allows for real-time visibility of patient demand for acute allied health services and the capacity (FTE) of allied health professionals to meet that demand. Additionally, it provides an 'Executive View' dashboard that shows demand and resourcing allocation across two hospital sites and identifies allied health responses to demand (reallocation, prioritisation, trends analysis).

After 18 months of profession group trials and collecting clinical consumer feedback, The AHDC tool has been implemented into business as usual across six allied health professions (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychology, social work, speech pathology, and nutrition) working within the acute medical units. Staff have reported that the AHDC tool is quick and easy to access, use and navigate. The tool has benefits for patients, clinicians, and management as it ensures that patients receive the right services at the right time. By providing a coordinated approach to managing the demand for allied health services, the tool is improving patient outcomes and increasing the efficiency of allied health resource allocation.