IRISH healthcare software companies, Vitro Software and YellowSchedule have announced a new partnership to tackle the growing crisis of hospital waiting lists. The companies will merge their international expertise and experience to create a practical, swift implementation of a long-term solution to address this growing issue in Ireland and the UK with ‘SmartList’.
The benefits of ‘SmartList’ include;
- 25% waiting list reduction
- Reduce the number of no-show appointments (DNA’s) by over 50%
- 25% estimated reduction in patient waiting times
- 75% cost savings of administration overheads
It was recently reported by the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) that over 900,000 Irish people are on hospital waiting lists, an increase of 124,000 since 2019. The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has warned that the numbers waiting for either treatment or a consultation will soon increase to over one million patients. A long-term sustainable solution is urgently required to help manage waiting lists as numbers continue to rise.
The joint software solution, ‘SmartList’, enables end to end management of waiting lists. The solution can be utilised by hospitals to categorise patients based on clinical priority and to identify those patients who can be cared for more quickly in the community, following consultant-led care plans. Utilising the ‘SmartList’ solution will lead to a reduction in waiting list sizes, a reduction in waiting times for patients and an improved patient experience during their time on waiting lists. The key to the solution is regular communication and updates for the patient, thereby reducing waiting list anxiety.
Martina Skelly, CEO of YellowSchedule says: “Ireland’s already significant waiting lists have been further increased by Covid-19 and then subsequently by the Cyber Attack earlier this year. The number of people waiting for an appointment and the length of time they are waiting continues to increase. However Ireland has a history of producing world class healthcare software and now has the opportunity to leverage the experience to lead the way on improving waiting list management. This is an issue that touches every single family and both YellowSchedule and Vitro Software share a passion for being part of the solution.
It is estimated, conservatively, that the implementation of ‘SmartList’ will result in an overall reduction of 25% across waiting list numbers, with fewer delays in diagnosis and patient waiting times., and significant healthcare savings, through a reduction in administration overheads and appointment no-shows which are also addressed by the solution.
Dr Ruth Barnes, Director of Commercial Operations for Vitro Software says, “Putting the patient at the heart of the ‘SmartList’ solution was essential to its design. It is critical for patients to be seen by care providers in a timely manner to avoid delayed diagnosis and deterioration of their conditions. We are using our international experience as a provider of Hospital Digital Medical Records and speciality solutions for Breast Screening and Mental Health to provide a software solution to the waiting list challenges Ireland faces. We feel that by Vitro Software working together with Yellow Schedule who are experts in their field will provide a long term solution for the waiting list challenges.
