Innovative approaches cut wait times for patients at N.B. Heart Centre

SAINT JOHN, N.B. | A project aimed at improving patient access to care at the New Brunswick Heart Centre (NBHC) has achieved significant reductions in wait times for patients needing heart surgery.The initiative is part of a five-year collaboration formed in May 2016 between Horizon Health Network and Medtronic Integrated Health Solutions (IHS) with the goal of improving patient access to five clinical services at the NBHC.The initial phase of the project focused on cardiovascular surgery wait times, which had been identified as the most pressing need.Within six months, using a "lean" process improvement approach, the team has:Increased operating room capacity by 14%.Reduced average wait times by 44% from 118 to 66 days.Reduced maximum wait times for nine out of 10 patients by 31% from 283 to 195 days.Reduced patient wait times during the discharge process by an average of half a day, thereby reducing post-operative average length of stay by 7.1%.Together, these results have created capacity for additional cardiac surgeries and the number of patients waiting for cardiac surgery has been reduced. These positive trends are expected to progress as the new strategies continue to be implemented.The initiative involved teams from Horizon and Medtronic IHS as well as senior administrative and clinical leaders, physicians and staff from the NBHC and Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital, where the NBHC is located.“We’re very encouraged by the results of this first phase of the project and what this approach to process improvement can do for the other healthcare services that have been identified,” says Geri Geldart, vice-president, clinical, for Horizon Health Network.“Our staff and physicians have been very strong in supporting this project, and we’re excited about what can be achieved in these next phases,” Geldart says.“Initially the process was intimidating,” says Michelle Brodersen, resource nurse in cardiac services at the NBHC. “But as I got more involved in the project, I got to see how one small change can make a huge impact, not just on our workload, but on patients’ lives.”“This progress shows how healthcare teams can work together to make a series of small changes that have a significant and positive impact on our patients,” says Dr. Jean-François Légaré, chief of cardiac surgery for the NBHC.The NBHC and Medtronic Canada are now turning their attention to the second phase of the project, which will focus mainly on increasing the efficiency of the cardiac catheterization laboratory.Read more about the Horizon–Medtronic partnership here.

Innovative approaches cut wait times for patients at N.B. Heart Centre

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