UCSF Center for Healthcare Value - Caring Wisely 2.0

Crowd-sourcing innovative cost savings ideas from the front lines of care delivery systems

ARCHIVED

New posts and comments will not be accepted.

The UCSF Center for Healthcare Value (CHV) called for the best ideas to reduce inefficiencies and health care costs as Phase 1 of the Caring Wisely initiative. The top 10 ideas at each site were selected as "Hot Spots" for Phase 2, which will be a call for proposals from within the UCSF and SFGH communities to address the areas of interest identified from the winning ideas in Phase 1.

Ideas (172 total)

Pages

rethink how we help patients that call the wrong dept.

Submitted by Keith Ackerson on January 24, 2014 - 5:21pm Last revised by Web Producer on March 13, 2014 - 12:43pm.
Idea Status: 
Review Complete

For whatever reason patients will occasionally call the wrong department, this is usually already frustrating for the patient who has had to sit through the intro to the wrong department and when someone does pick up they’re told to call a different number or they’re sent to the trunk line to start from the very beginning. Instead of doing that we can use the tools available to us (ORGR, the global Directory, and even the internet). By creating a more direct path by simply getting them to the department they want.

why not open a lab on Sat for the working people

Submitted by April Andrews on January 24, 2014 - 4:18pm Last revised by Web Producer on March 13, 2014 - 12:43pm.
Idea Status: 
Review Complete

Hi,

 CPMC at 3838 California St has a LAB open on Sat , I think 9- 3PM, which is  very helpful for people who cannot go to the lab during the week because they cannot take time off from work. I also think more revenue would be generated by doing this. It also might cut down on traffic, and parking.

 

No. 2 Ideal   Do not send bills for 15. dollar or 20.  dollar copays, Collect all copays  and monies due at the front desk at the time of the visit.  It cost much more to send  bills for  co pays and monies due.

 

Automated Data Acquisition and Analysis

Submitted by Paul Brakeman on January 24, 2014 - 3:10pm Last revised by Web Producer on March 13, 2014 - 12:43pm.
Idea Status: 
Review Complete

This is basic idea about how to better use technology to acheive value. The hospital room of the future is now. By harnessing current IT and medical device expertise we can collect more information in an automated fashion so that nurses or physician assistants do not need to manually enter weights or heights into EPIC. All devices used to obtain patient data should be linked via bluetooth or wirelss to automatically dump data into EPIC.

D-dimer before PE study

Submitted by Ellen Weber on January 24, 2014 - 2:16pm Last revised by Web Producer on March 13, 2014 - 12:43pm.
Idea Status: 
Review Complete

Many physicians do not take the time to risk stratify patients and order a d-dimer prior to ordering a CT for pulmonary embolism (PE) . The evidence strongly suggests we can save health care tests, reduce delay and reduce radiation exposure by using a combinatioj of risk stratification and d-dimer. Idea: integrate into Apex a risk stratification tool and require d-dimer testing for all patients with low to moderate pre-test probability before allowing a CT for PE. 

Reducing the number of Test Not Done

Submitted by Melisa Chandradijaya on January 24, 2014 - 1:46pm Last revised by Web Producer on March 13, 2014 - 12:43pm.
Idea Status: 
Review Complete

Reducing the numbers of Test Not Done due to improper laboratory collection or mislabeled certainly would decrease the waste and health care cost.

First, TNDs would require duplicate specimen collection done by other healthcare professionals e.g. respiratory therapists to collect mini BAL or ETA or nurses/phlebotomists to do another blood draw. The risk of nosocomial infection is even higher if the specimen collection requires invasive procedures such as CSF, sterile body fluids, etc. In the case of outpatient setting, patients need to be called in to schedule another appointment.

Reduce waste by "opting out" of paper radiology reports

Submitted by Lisa Hannegan on January 24, 2014 - 1:43pm Last revised by Web Producer on March 13, 2014 - 12:43pm.
Idea Status: 
Review Complete

Providers who order ambulatory radiology tests receive paper reports, as well as receiving results in APEX.  I frequently receive paper reports of results I have already reviewed in APEX, resulting in a huge, expensive paper and envelope waste when multiplied by all the providers at UCSF.  

Bedcontrol inquiry for patients to be admitted into semi-private rooms

Submitted by Lisa Marchi on January 24, 2014 - 1:38pm Last revised by Web Producer on March 13, 2014 - 12:43pm.
Idea Status: 
Review Complete

As a 14Long nurse/charge nurse, I have an idea to reduce inefficiencies and health care costs.  Even if I am not the recipient of this award, I think this problem area warrants attention.  I work on a 24 bed unit with 6 semi-private beds, and it becomes a time-consuming task for the charge RN to try to move a patient who has been admitted into a semi-private room into a private room.  Quite often, a patient in the Emergency Department takes precedence over the already admitted 14L patient who wants to move from a semi-private room into a private room (unders

Medical Scribe

Submitted by Keri Gailloux on January 24, 2014 - 12:53pm Last revised by Web Producer on March 13, 2014 - 12:43pm.
Idea Status: 
Review Complete

The biggest complaint in our Liver clinics & I'm sure for all the medical center doctor/patient interaction, is patient wait time. Some times they are waiting up to 2 hrs or more for a 15 minute appointment which they have spent 3 hrs driving to from out of town. I read about Medical Scribes online & thought it was a fabulous idea, which may or may not have been broached before here at UCSF, though I have never seen such a job posted.

Pages