Mercy Public Hospitals Inc. ( MPHI)

1. Mercy Public Hospitals Inc. (MPHI) Specialist Clinics Access Policy Project Department of Health Project Briefing Andrea Bower, Project Director 22 May 2014

2. MPHI Clinics • Mercy Public Hospital Inc. (MPHI) includes a range of outpatient services at the following sites: • Mercy Hospital for Women, Heidelberg • Werribee Mercy Hospital, Werribee • PANCH, Preston • East Melbourne Lymphoedema Clinic There are 80 specialist clinics across these sites: Obstetrics Lymphoedema Gynaecology Reproductive Medicine Gastroenterology General Medicine Surgical Allied Health Oncology Urology Paediatric Psychiatry Diabetes 22 May 2014

3. The Baseline • Target processes for this presentation by MPHI are: • 6.8 Referral Acknowledgement • 7.3 Clinical Prioritisation Past challenges in improving target processes • Inconsistent processes across campuses, programs, and clinics • Inconsistent governance around timeliness and receipt of referral • No sustained data management or accountability for outcomes • No overarching project management • Processes are mostly manual with minimal e-tools • Access to stakeholders 22 May 2014

4. The Baseline – Current Data Initial data is anecdotal: 6.8 Referral Acknowledgement • Most referrals received by fax in various locations in clinics across MPHI • An electronically produced acknowledgement letter to the referrer and patient within eight (8) working days for the majority of MPHI clinics 7.3 Clinic Prioritisation • Clinical triage is mostly completed within five (5) working days • Requests for more information are sent the day of triage • Urgent cases are planned for treatment within 30 days • Any critical events relating to patient safety are reported through VHIMS and where clinical prioritisation is an issue, corrective action is undertaken 22 May 2014

5. The Baseline - Challenges • The challenges for SCAP identified to date are: 6.8 Referral Acknowledgement • The reliance on fax and post for information exchange • The reliance on fax and post for the receipt of referrals creates a single point of failure if the fax breaks down • Some time elements are purely manual • Providing referrers with the right referral and suitable guidelines 22 May 2014

6. Challenges (cont.) 7.3 Clinic Prioritisation • There are areas of strength in relation to the target, and there are opportunities for improvement • Other general challenges noted to date: • Website requires review and update • Clinical and administrative discharge from clinics is poor • Resource constraints and inadequate communications systems • Limited understanding of the referral process by consumers 22 May 2014

7. Progress to Date • Works to date include: • Appointment of a Project Manager • Development of a Project Management Plan, Project Schedule and other start up activities • Establishment of Project Steering Committee and Project Working Party • Completion of initial gap analysis by the initial SCAP working party • Identification of all specialist clinics and key stakeholders • Analysis and documentation of current patient journey with specific emphasis on target processes 22 May 2014

8. Action Plan - Milestones 22 May 2014

9. Action Plan - Progress to Date • As of Week 5, key milestones for Stage 1 is completed, and Stage 2 is in progress and on target. The schedule for project anticipates a completion date of 30 June 2015 22 May 2014

10. Action Plan - Considerations • Review implications of new Specialist Clinics Access Policy – Ensuring Access to Maternity Care • Review of who performs clinical prioritisation • System changes to facilitate achievement of target timeframes • Review of resource utilisation 22 May 2014

11. Thank you