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Model of shared care delivery improves glaucoma management at Belgian university clinic
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PRAGUE — An innovative model of shared care delivery resulted in optimization of flow, increased patient volume, cost savings and greater satisfaction of patients, employees and glaucoma specialists.
Ingeborg Stalmans, MD, PhD, head of the glaucoma unit at Leuven University Hospital, Belgium, talked about this project at the European Glaucoma Society Congress, starting from the observation that optimization of resources might help avoid the two extremes of undertreatment and overtreatment, as well as the problem of capacity saturation in future years.
Ingeborg Stalmans
The project started by gathering evidence from literature on ideal flow, organizing patient focus groups and identifying the weak points of the system, such as long waiting times and chaotic flow.
“We tried to use that information to optimize flow management, and we also introduced the Glaucoma Post, a model of shared care between physicians and non-physicians. The aims were to focus the expertise of glaucoma specialists on newly diagnosed and unstable patients, reduce waiting times for appointments and start the medical or surgical treatment sooner,” Stalmans said.
Non-physicians underwent a training program to be able to take care of patient monitoring and referral based on well-defined criteria and specific standards.
The new system resulted in increased capacity, with a rapid growth from 6,000 to 8,000 patients per year. Waiting time for first appointment was reduced from 4.5 months to 2.5 months.
“This was because shared care freed space in the consultations of glaucoma specialists, and we could take on more first appointment patients. The number of surgical procedures also increased,” Stalmans said.
Improved quality of care, positive financial balance and higher satisfaction of patients, employees and specialists were also reported.
More information on Glaucoma Post and other shared care programs in other centers are available on the EGS website, http://www.eugs.org/eng/SIGcare_delivery_care_processes_library.asp. – by Michela Cimberle
Reference:
Stalmans I. Innovative care delivery: how to provide most appropriate care at different stages? Presented at: European Glaucoma Society Congress; June 19-22, 2016; Prague.
Disclosure: Stalmans reports no relevant financial disclosures.