Name
#36 - Otorhinolaryngology (ENT) Circuit Rider Process Improvement
Date & Time
Monday, February 12, 2024, 12:00 PM
Description

ABSTRACT: Military medical treatment facilities (MTFs) within the European region are limited in clinical and specialty provider billeting. As a result, three Navy MTFs within the region share clinical providers for specialty services. These shared specialists are referred to as “circuit riders.” A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is created that allows the specialists to report to other Navy European MTFs three to four times a year to provide specialty clinic patient encounters and perform surgery as indicated. Otorhinolaryngology (ENT) is one of the most utilized specialty services that reports to this facility. Each visit from the ENT specialist consists of nine working days. The current “circuit rider” process utilizes six of the nine days for initial, preoperative, and follow-up appointments. The remaining three days are dedicated to surgeries. The short timeline greatly restricts the number of patients able to receive care during the specialist’s visit. Often patients will opt to wait for the specialist to travel here versus utilizing network services and potentially delaying of definitive care and treatment. This decrease access to MTF ENT services led to the Telehealth and ENT team to redesign and optimize the ENT visits. This project increased use of Telehealth visits prior to ENT face to face visits. The total number of ENT encounters during the MTF visit demonstrated a 58% increase in Oct 22 and 47% increase in Feb 23.

Location Name
Prince Georges Exhibit Hall A/B
Content Presented on Behalf of
DHA
Learning Outcomes
Following this presentation, the participants will understand:
How Naval Hospital Rota increased overall access to ENT care.
How Naval Hospital Rota increased availability of ENT surgical services.
How Telehealth/Virtual Medicine was utilized to create workflow efficiencies.
How provider, patient and logistics workflows were optimized to avoid unnecessary network and/or enterprise travel costs.
Session Type
Posters
Dropdown Content Presented On Behalf Of:
DHA