3 June 2024
Issues around staffing shortages and procedure backlogs are unfortunately all too often quoted as the top challenges facing hospital management across Europe today. The root causes can be numerous, complex and multifaceted, such as funding constraints, challenges with staff retention and burnout issues, taking up a considerable amount of management’s attention. Understaffing can also have a direct impact on patient safety and quality of care.
Through the evolution of advisory and digital solutions, Boston Scientific has found practical ways to help hospitals bring efficiencies to how they operate and redefine the way they deliver health care that are benefiting hospital management, healthcare delivery teams and patients alike.
Getting to the heart of the problem
Whether it is a hospital seeking a way to digitalise its inventory management, reduce waiting lists, reduce unnecessary days in hospital for patients, identify patients in need of treatment, optimise in and outpatient workflow efficiencies, or simply gain insights from their patients that can help provide better care, there are numerous ways hospitals are seeking to become more efficient and productive in how they deliver healthcare.
“Boston Scientific has developed a diverse portfolio of advisory and digital solutions that empower customers to overcome complex challenges and create sustainable, data-driven programmes that improve the quality of care and ultimately achieve better patient outcomes.” said Kathleen Van Vlierberghe, vice president Healthcare Solutions & Partnerships and Inside Sales EMEA.
Understanding that no two customers are the same has been key to their success. “We make things easier for our customers, providing valuable insights for effective planning, reducing administrative burdens, and allowing them to spend more time on what truly matters: the patients.” said Van Vlierberghe. “Through meaningful innovation, our advisory and digital solutions have the power to personalise care and empower patients, help predict, and help prevent adverse patient events, and ultimately deliver better medical outcomes. Our tech-driven solutions not only streamline administrative processes but also aim to enhance the overall experience of working with us”.
Tailored solutions for enhanced patient care
Take the case of Casa di Cura Maria Rosaria, an Italian healthcare provider that was facing challenges with its stock management process and purchase orders. After deploying new solutions in collaboration with Boston Scientific, the clinic managed to reduce the time required for managing its warehouse, product, and administrative processes by 87%. That is over 200 hours saved per year that can now be spent on more value-added activities.
“[Boston Scientific] enabled an optimisation of our supply chain management processes through a strong push towards digitalisation.” said Dr. Luca Empireo, general director of Casa di Cura Maria Rosaria. “This led to an improved efficiency of the clinic, allowing us to provide the best possible experience to patients.”
Improving patient reach
Another prime example is Sana Kliniken Berlin Brandenburg, part of one of Germany’s largest private hospital groups. Aiming to grow its Left Atrial Appendage Closure (LAAC) programme. LAAC is a minimally invasive procedure that prevents blood from pooling and creating blood clots in the heart. The hospital turned to Boston Scientific for help. By adapting patient flagging and screening tools, they increased considerably the number of patients reached over six years. In fact, half the additional patients treated wouldn't have been found without improved screening tools.
A third example is Universitätsspital Basel (USB), one of five university hospitals in Switzerland. The hospital asked Boston Scientific to conduct an assessment of their Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) programme, a common procedure that improves the blood flow in the heart— hoping to both discover existing obstacles and further develop the therapy.
USB was experiencing procedural delays and lacked data to measure the programme’s performance, but with the help of Boston Scientific USB was able to reach more patients by increasing the number of TAVI procedures by 40%. It also reduced the length of unnecessary patient stays by 24% and reduced the time it took to perform the procedure by 13%.
Collaboration for success
The success stories of Casa di Cura Maria Rosaria, Sana Kliniken and Universitätsspital Basel show the tangible impact tailored solutions can bring. “The challenges of delivering good health care today are manifold but by working closely together with healthcare providers and seamlessly integrating these kinds of solutions into their eco-systems” said Van Vlierberghe, “we can contribute towards empowering healthcare providers to identify and boost efficiencies in their healthcare delivery, which ultimately leads to better patient care which is something we all want to see happen.”