Hospital Manager, a Web-based Reservation Management System for Hospitals, Expanding Adoption to Transform Analog Reservation Adjustments

Medical Note Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Yuki Kobayashi, hereinafter "Medical Note") is actively expanding the adoption of "Hospital Manager," a web-based reservation management system for hospitals. This system solves the challenges of analog reservation adjustments via phone and FAX faced by regional cooperation offices and reception departments in acute care hospitals, enabling centralized management of reservations from referring clinics on the web.

■ Background of Service Provision

Many analog tasks still remain in the reservation adjustment operations of acute care hospitals, and the following problems are piled up at the sites:

"Hospital Manager" was developed to solve the common reservation adjustment challenges in acute care hospitals in a one-stop manner, realizing stress-free reservation management for both hospitals and reservists (patients themselves and referring doctors).

Challenges in reservation adjustment seen in acute care hospitals:

① Increased reservation adjustment costs

Reservation applications and confirmations for referrals rely on FAX and phone, requiring a lot of man-hours for scheduling.

② Missed opportunities and unfulfilled requests

Reservations can only be accepted during reception hours, and inquiries outside of business hours or on weekends cannot be handled.

③ Staff workload pressure

Regional cooperation offices and reception staff are tied up with phone calls, putting pressure on their original cooperation duties and patient care.

④ Complicated in-hospital coordination

It takes time and effort to grasp and confirm reservation status, and the coordination flow with medical departments is complicated.

⑤ Obstruction of operational efficiency

Reservation management is a mix of paper, phone, and FAX, leading to dispersed information, errors, and double bookings.

⑥ Decreased evaluation from referring doctors

Referring medical institutions sometimes point out that "the reservation process is too cumbersome."

■ Four Features and Strengths of "Hospital Manager"

This system is a one-stop system that significantly reduces the adjustment costs from referral reservations to direct reservations and leads to web-based completion. Functions can be customized according to hospital operations.

① Prevents missed opportunities with 24/7 web reservations, from referral to direct appointments

Patients themselves and referring doctors from clinics can apply for desired dates and times 24 hours a day, anytime via the web. By covering applications outside reception hours and on weekends, missed opportunities are minimized.

② Smooth consultation upon arrival with pre-interview function (up to 10 questions)

During reservation, a customizable questionnaire (up to 10 questions) can be filled out online for each medical department and disease. Necessary information is gathered before the consultation date, allowing for quick progress in consultation on the day of arrival.

③ "Zero phone adjustments" with centralized management and automatic notifications on the administration screen

All application contents are centralized on the administration screen. By checking the available slots in the electronic medical record and pressing the confirmation button on the system, an automatic confirmation email is sent to the patient, enabling operations with zero troublesome return calls or FAX exchanges.

④ Design and operation system considering safe management of medical information

Medical Note has acquired ISO/IEC 27001, an international standard for information security management systems, and develops and operates its services under a system based on the control measures of this certification.

AWS is adopted as the system infrastructure, providing services in a cloud environment with high availability and security design.

The company's internal security standards are formulated by referring to the "3-Ministry 2-Guidelines" (a general term for guidelines on the safe management of medical information systems established by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), which are guidelines for businesses handling medical information.

■ Expected Effects of Introduction

Currently, "Hospital Manager" has been introduced in numerous medical institutions, starting with the Cancer Institute Hospital of JFCR, Atsugi City Hospital, Osaka Women's and Children's Hospital, and Sendai Medical Center. The following are the results of solving challenges in actual medical institutions that have adopted the system:

① Significant reduction in phone/FAX response man-hours [200 hours/year reduction]

Regional cooperation offices and reception are freed from phone calls, allowing them to concentrate on their original cooperation duties and patient care.

② Expand acceptance opportunities and prevent missed requests [27% monthly application increase]

24/7 web reception covers applications outside business hours and on weekends (with cases where after-hours applications account for 46.7% of the total), minimizing missed opportunities.

③ Smooth transition without stopping existing workflow [Implementation completed in as little as 2 weeks]

A dedicated CS (Customer Success) team accompanies the institution until operation is established, enabling speedy implementation in as little as two weeks with minimal on-site confusion.

For more details on this service, please visit the special page:

https://medicalnote.jp/static/mk/hospital_manager/

Inquiries from medical professionals can be made here:

https://medicalnote.co.jp/c