Digital re-design – outpatient bookings: Delivering improved patient access to outpatient services

Bookings and Referrals Centre (BARC) staff receive approximately 2,500 phone calls per week. To address all these different types of enquiries, the team previously had to access more than seven distinct systems, making the provision of patient care inefficient and slow. This led to the design of our solution, Kirra, which replaces these multiple systems previously needed to manage outpatient waitlist and bookings with a single, fully integrated web application. Efficiency gains to meet service demand: Streamlined and automated processes to release workforce capacity to enable our staff to work at top of scope and return time to care.

• Better decision making through real-time information availability: Integrated digital systems that allow for information to be at hand to inform decision making in care.
• Improved access through easy-to-use digital solutions: By including the consumer and staff in the design of our solutions, the adoption of technology will improve access to services.
• Automating appointment confirmations has translated to 1.6 FTE of staff time liberated for other tasks. Scaling this out to all outpatient booking areas across Gold Coast Health will result in a further 14 FTE of time being released for staff to reinvest back into patient care.