Now that the YM Coordination, Appointment, Referral & Engagement (CARE) Center has been operational for eight months, the extent of its impact on our practice and on the experiences of our patients and providers is becoming apparent.
Across the integrated Phase 1 departments/sections, the number of incoming referrals has grown by approximately 40% year-over-year, with the number of visits per provider per week increasing by approximately 7%. More than one-quarter of the total visit growth is attributable to new patients. Despite the increase in volume, the number of patients waiting to be scheduled has decreased by approximately 64% from 2018 to the same period in 2019, a reflection of streamlined workflows and a suite of technologies that enable greater efficiency and accuracy.
“We believe the increased referral volume is a direct result of our efforts to simplify and enhance access pathways for referring providers and patients,” says YM Chief Operating Officer Maryam Saeri. “By making it easier for patients to access and move through the system, and by increasing the efficiency with which we process referrals, we are seeing substantial growth in the number of patients who are coming to Yale Medicine for their care.”
Since opening in late January, the CARE Center has scheduled over 275,000 appointments.
Preparing for Phase 2
Planning for Phase 2 will take place throughout the fall, and Phase 2 departments/sections will transition to the YM CARE Center from January through June 2020. Planning for the third and final phase of the project will begin in September 2020, with the goal of integrating the entire practice into the CARE Center by June 2021.
Phase 2 will include the following departments/sections:
- Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility (REI)
- Yale Internal Medicine Associates (YIMA)
- Allergy
- Infectious Diseases
- Rheumatology
- Neurosurgery
- Emergency General and Trauma Surgery
- Surgical Oncology–General
- Surgical Oncology–Endocrine
- Endocrinology (at Smilow)
- Plastic Surgery
- Ear, Nose, and Throat (excl. Head & Neck)
- Pulmonary
- Sleep Medicine (excl. Sleep Studies)
- Pain Medicine
- Digestive Diseases
- Bariatric Surgery
- Colorectal Surgery
- Cardiology
- Cardiac Surgery
- Vascular Surgery
- Interventional Radiology
The YM CARE Center is located at 25 Science Park and operates from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. Through a single point of entry, the center offers simplified access for patients and referring physicians, and provides an integrated approach to ambulatory scheduling, nurse triage, referral management, and care coordination.