FEATURE : HEALTHCARE
Dariel has transformed an existing healthcare provider by adopting a risk-averse and best practices approach , dissolving dependency on legacy systems and introducing new solutions in priority areas like patient and hospital visits , ward activities , theatre activities , pharmacy activities , and billing . frequent billing errors leading to reputational and financial losses .
These and other issues , impacted patient care and clinical outcomes . Nursing skills , for example , were in short supply and the administrative burden interfered with time spent at the bedside . Holistic care and patient centricity were non-existent but identified as vital to the organisation ’ s future .
In addition , case managers were stretched to breaking point and had to work more than 120 hours of overtime per month on average to stay ahead of demand .
Implementing best practices
Projections suggest that by 2027 , South Africa will spend R414 billion on healthcare annually . A staggering amount , especially considering that the country spent R175 billion on healthcare in 2017 , 9 % of its GDP . An ongoing modernisation programme for a large hospital group by Dariel Software shows that this is indeed possible .
Dariel was tasked with replacing the core operational systems of a South African hospital group while also pursuing operational improvements along the way .
Legacy challenges
The existing core systems depended on ailing mainframe technologies that were no longer supported by vendors , with scarce and expensive replacement parts .
At the same time , medical aid funders were becoming more sophisticated resulting in more complex billing and claims rules that needed to be followed , causing
While creating , developing , and implementing the solution , Dariel followed these important design principles .
• Doing your work should take care of your administration for you . In many cases you can minimise or eliminate pure administration tasks by reimagining how tools , devices , and the system can support the actual activity .
• Work smarter , not harder . Providing staff with the tools and intel to know what is urgent would improve workflow .
• Interoperability is king . Use industry standards where they exist .
• DevOps means consistency and dependability . A key consideration was delivery cadence to ensure maximum ROI by streamlining the delivery of value to the organisation .
• Good decisions require accurate , timely data . Operational task boards would be introduced to focus resources , guide activity , and highlight interventions .
• Trust is good , but control is better . Low-maturity organisations rely on heroes to do the right thing
Transforming African healthcare using project management and best practices
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