SCP's Strategy

Considering these goals, SCP’s clinical and operational leaders recommended the following plan to the multidisciplinary Joint Operations Committee (composed of EM and HM medical directors, members of hospital administration, nursing directors, and other key stakeholders):

  • Hire a new daytime internist to support higher acuity patients
  • Hire an experienced telenocturnist to care for HM patients overnight—even in critical situations requiring vent management
  • Establish technology that would allow for telehealth support and smoother nurse workflow
  • Facilitate conversations and trainings to gradually get the full clinical staff on board

 

Once approved, SCP moved forward with this robust approach—and quickly saw positive results. When the COVID-19 pandemic surged just months later, SCP was able to help the facility navigate through this unstable time—even implementing a more advanced telehealth cart to increase the efficacy of the telenocturnist.

Impact

Incorporating telemedicine into the hospitalist program served to:

  • Nearly eliminate need for daytime physicians to come onsite after hours
  • Improve nurse satisfaction by simplifying overnight physician consults
  • Further collaboration and productivity across HM and EM

 

By the numbers, the switch to using telenocturnists drove the following results within just a few months of implementation:

  • HM Average Daily Census: Increased by 3% to 20.3
  • HCAHPS Scores: Increased from 82% to 90%
  • Discharge by 12 Noon: Increased by 11.5%
  • Transfer Percentage: Decreased by 30%
  • Throughput: Decreased by 33.4% to under 4 hours