Triage tool
Maastricht University Medical Center deploys Avola Decision to help medical staff quickly assess Corona patients in the emergency room.
Quick assessment patients
Giving patients the best possible care is the top priority for Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+). This was also true during the Corona pandemic more than two years ago. In order to continue providing optimal medical care and to protect medical staff and non-Corona patients, Corona and non-Corona patients had to be strictly separated. Incoming Corona patients in the emergency room had to be quickly assessed and treated. However, there was much confusion about how to triage these patients because guidelines and protocols changed daily. We Are Not, a healthcare consulting firm, used Avola Decision as a triage tool to help medical staff quickly screen patients for Corona status and make appropriate decisions according to the latest protocols.
- Higher speed of triage
- More transparency
- Putting the patient first
Consistent decision-making in an uncertain situation
The biggest challenge for MUMC+ was the complexity and uncertainty about the best triage for patients who were brought into the emergency room with emergency care at the beginning of the pandemic. The protocols for triage of these patients were therefore complex and constantly changing. They were also frequently interpreted in different ways by medical staff resulting in inconsistency in triage. In addition, ambiguity arose regarding the logistical handling of Corona patients.
MUMC+ therefore asked We Are Not if they could help them reduce the complexity of screening these patients. We Are Not specializes in devising intelligent solutions that help medical professionals ensure the quality and safety of healthcare. They chose Avola Decision because the tool enables Decision Modeling and because they Ciphix were very cooperative and willing to extend their platform to meet We Are Not’s specific needs.
Use rule engines to translate protocols into clear guidelines
During several meetings, We Are Not discussed with the medical staff the complexity of medical decisions that needed to be made for Corona patients. Bottlenecks in the existing process were identified and some critical inconsistencies were discovered.
The next step was to translate the Triage rules into decision models. These were then automated in Avola Decision within a week. The result was that the medical staff and other hospital employees now had access to one clear and consistent triage tool for Corona patients.
If the protocols changed, the rules could be updated instantly in Avola Decision. As a result, emergency room medical staff only had to follow the application, knowing that it would automatically guide them through the latest version of the protocol. About 50 emergency room staff worked with the triage tool daily for several months until the number of Corona infections decreased.
What is Avola Decision?
Higher speed of triage and greater transparency
By using Avola Decision as a triage tool, the medical staff at MUMC+ experienced several advantages. First, they no longer had to go through the latest versions of protocols themselves. If there were changes, they were immediately added to Avola Decision so that the hospital could go “live” with the new protocol at the push of a button. This allowed the medical staff, as well as the rest of the hospital staff involved with Corona patients, to make informed decisions quickly.
Putting the patient first
In addition, the platform improved the transparency of the medical staff’s complex decision-making process. For the first time, their knowledge, which was usually hidden in their heads, was translated into clear rules. Their decision-making process regarding patient triage was no longer a black box, but became fully transparent.
The consultants at We Are Not hope that using Avola Decision as a triage tool will spark more changes in health care. Popke Rein
Says Munniksma, co-founder of We Are Not, “By capturing complex decisions made by healthcare professionals in systems such as Avola Decision, they no longer have to keep this complex knowledge in their heads. This makes their decision-making process transparent and provides clarity and peace of mind. It also allows healthcare professionals to spend more time on themselves and their patients.”
Pandemic protocol
We Are Not also used Avola Decision to develop a pandemic protocol for hospital intensive care units. In this protocol, they established the rules to be applied when there are no more beds available in the intensive care unit. Based on these rules, the medical staff can decide which patients will be admitted to the intensive care unit. Fortunately, this protocol did not have to be used in the end.
Fabian Tijssen, co-founder of We Are Not: “We are convinced that the deployment of Avola Decision made a significant contribution to facilitating the screening of Corona patients at MUMC+ at the beginning of the pandemic. The hospital screened nearly 2,000 people with Avola Decision and it enabled them to treat patients quickly and consistently, ensuring them the best possible triage during a very chaotic period.”
- Higher speed of triage
- More transparency
- Putting the patient first
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