Historically, it has been difficult to schedule surgery from Texas Children’s Hospital locations outside Main Campus. A pilot project launched a few months ago in the Division of Otolaryngology has overcome this challenge and made scheduling surgery from remote locations easier.
Surgeons now can insert an order into Epic at the time of a patient visit. Previously, when otolaryngologists traveled to see patients, they faxed or transported paper forms to Main Campus or called to schedule surgery.
“Those methods of scheduling surgery from offsite locations were less efficient and rife with opportunities for missed communications,” said Dr. Carla Giannoni, the Texas Children’s otolaryngologist who spearheaded the project.
Now, surgeons can use Epic to immediately submit an order for surgery.
“When I am at a satellite office, I am able to request the exact procedure I want, including special details, without depending on a faxed piece of paper to get to my scheduler at Main Campus,” Giannoni said. “The need to communicate about an upcoming surgery is resolved instead of having to be logged, tracked, and communicated back at a later date and time.”
In addition, the project provides for more secure patient information and increases HIPAA compliance.
“The potential to lose patient information has been eliminated with this new process,” she said. “The program has worked very well for me.”
Plans to roll out this program to other Department of Surgery divisions are underway. Surgical Services Director Trent Johnson said it will likely start early this year in the Division of Ophthalmology.