JERSEY CITY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LibertyHealth Jersey City Medical Center today announced significant cost and time saving results from the implementation of Practice Unite, a customized, HIPAA-compliant smartphone application designed to improve communications and speed up workflows. Deployed one year ago, the hospital has seen dramatic savings through the communications app, which has been downloaded by most active staff members.
Like many hospitals, one of the biggest challenges facing the 300-bed facility has been how to improve communications between physicians, nurses and other members of patient care teams. The time it takes for clinicians to reach each other drains staff productivity and creates delays in decision-making regarding critical patient-related issues.
One of the most important ingredients to the Practice Unite system is the focus on driving physician adoption in order see real return on the technology investment.
After a year of using Practice Unite, LibertyHealth, Jersey City Medical Center believes that the app has saved the organization at least $2 million. Specifics include:
- Impacting the Observation Unit: Physicians report that improved communications empowers them to discharge patients 20% faster. This translated into saving the hospital $720,000 a year.
- Reducing Communication Delays: Communications are responded to six time faster. Surgeons report that consult response times were reduced by from 2-4 hours to 15-30 minutes – just by implementing the mobile communication system that allows faster and immediate communication between physicians, nurses and staff. Emergency Department physicians report moving patients through the ED 30 minutes faster than without the system, reducing ED delays by 15%.
- Decreasing Referral Leakage: Savings of $120,000 per active physician user annually in referral leakage. This means that a patient who would otherwise be referred to a physician or service outside the area stays within the hospital network.
User satisfaction has also been very high.
“The application feels like it is designed specifically for physicians,” says Joe Scott, FACHE, LibertyHealth president and chief executive officer. “The support we have had from both Practice Unite and our hospital team is impressive, and adoption has exceeded our expectations. The application feels like it is designed specifically for us and our nurses and physicians.”
LibertyHealth, Jersey City Medical Center expects to achieve further gains in clinical productivity as Practice Unite is integrated with its electronic health record, scheduling and laboratory reporting systems.
Practice Unite was developed by a member of the Jersey City Medical Center medical staff, Dr. Stuart Hochron, a pulmonologist and 30-year practicing primary care physician.
“In designing Practice Unite, our focus has been to empower members of the care team by breaking down the communications and workflow barriers they face every day,” said Dr. Hochron. “Making communications easier can make a major difference in productivity”.
About Practice Unite:
Practice Unite is brought to you by Navio Health LLC. Navio Health’s mission is to improve communications in healthcare. This is one of the biggest problems in healthcare, a major obstacle in the transition to population health management.
Navio Health’s core product is Practice Unite a secure, simple, customizable mobile communications application that help clinicians deliver better care more efficiently by making it easier for clinicians to communicate with each other.
Practice Unite’s solutions are tailored to support key clinical workflows, e.g. communications from the Observation Unit, delivering consults faster, more reliable patient-note sharing, delivering discharge communications, improving post-discharge communications.
To learn more visit www.practiceunite.com or request a demo through info@practiceunite.com.
About LibertyHealth, Jersey City Medical Center
Jersey City Medical Center (JCMC) is a modern 316-bed teaching hospital located in downtown Jersey City, New Jersey. JCMC is the largest provider of healthcare services in Hudson County, with over 18,000 admissions and 80,000 ER visits per year. JCMC is the only not-for-profit hospital in the area. The hospital serves as the regional trauma center, a state-designated stroke center, the regional comprehensive cardiac center, the perinatal intensive care center, and the regional level 3 neonatal intensive care unit for the most critically ill newborns. Additionally, it is the provider of Advanced Life Support for Hudson County, provides 911 Medical Call Screening for Hudson County, and operates one of the state’s busiest EMS systems. Jersey City Medical Center also is a major provider of behavioral health services, including 24/7 psychiatric emergency / crisis screening programs. The hospital has been recognized: as a Magnet Hospital for Nursing Excellence; as a top performer in quality and safety by the Joint Commission; as a recipient of five consecutive “A” ratings for safety by the Leapfrog Group; as a “top hospital” for its size for two consecutive years by Castle Connelly and listed in the top 10 in every category for hospitals its size. In addition, over the past two years both Modern Healthcare Magazine and Becker’s Hospital Review chose Jersey City Medical Center as one of the “Top 100 Places to Work in Healthcare in the United States.