Patient Queuing System Helps Animal Hospital Manage Care
The Patient Experience
Ann Arbor Animal Hospital (AAAH) saw a dramatic increase in patient flow resulting from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on local veterinary staffing. Safe social distancing protocols made it impossible for patients to wait inside the hospital. Some patients were waiting up to several hours in their cars. A patient queuing system was needed to enable AAAH to easily organize patient appointments and prioritize as necessary, while more effectively communicating wait times.
An Overview
Ann Arbor Animal Hospital is a locally owned, full service veterinary clinic in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The clinic provides routine primary veterinary care by walk-in seven days a week and emergency and critical care 24 hours a day for all veterinary emergencies.
As a walk-in practice, wait times have always been a reality for the clinic. While offering customers the convenience of same-day services, that convenience can be offset by the inconvenience of spending a lot of time waiting. Add to this the ongoing restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the clinic was experiencing even longer wait times than usual, with an average of 50-70 appointments daily. The longer wait times were noticeably affecting patient satisfaction and the clinic realized it needed to take action.
The Solution
Queuing Expertise + Qtrac Functionality
AAAH decided on a patient queuing system that would provide both efficient appointment management and effective patient communication. They chose Lavi Industries and the Qtrac platform because of the deep expertise of the Qtrac team and the features of Lavi’s Qtrac technology.
Qtrac: The Experts in Patient Flow and Queue Management
A recognized leader in the field of queue management, Lavi Industries and its Qtrac team bring a wealth of experience and knowledge. Because of this, Qtrac stood apart from other providers of digital queuing technology. Listening to the operational and patient service needs of AAAH, Qtrac asked the right questions and guided the Ann Arbor team through the process of configuring the system.
The Digital Patient Waiting Line:
Simple, Customizable, and Powerful
The Qtrac system checked all of the boxes on the functional requirements AAAH identified. When patients need to schedule a routine or emergency appointment, they call the appointment center. After describing the nature of the service, they are added to a virtual queue. A confirmation text is sent to the patient, indicating their current place in line. They are then sent a link to a webpage where they can track the number of patients ahead of them. This allows patients to wait for their appointment wherever they feel the most comfortable, including from home. When the patient is near the time for service, they are sent a text notification letting them know it is time to drive to the hospital to begin check-in.
On the administration side, Ann Arbor employees are able to see their incoming caseload on the Qtrac dashboard, along with information regarding the severity of the patient. Employees are able to prioritize emergency visits, and patient appointment information can be filtered and analyzed for efficiency. With no hardware or software to install, employees are able to access their virtual queue from several locations in the hospital, making it easier to manage patient flow. Easy customization allows the technology to grow with the hospital as needed.