Med Check

Team Name

HackX

Team Members

Project Description

An analysis of existing health care trends as they relate to Emergency Department Visits for the Northern Territory. Our analysis focused on reasons for Emergency Department visits, utilization and comparison to the national average. The objective was to identify short term healthcare needs of the community and what that would look like outside the hospital setting.

Data Story

Problem:

Extended wait times
Hospitals are not allowed to focus on actual emergency cases
Growing number of people opting to visit the Emergency Department
Hospital Emergency departments being overwhelmed by nonemergency cases
Stress caused to Hospital resources by having to treat non emergency patients in the emergency department
Shortage of healthcare professionals to assist with the increase in the number of cases
Capacity and resource utilization

Solution
Develop Emergency clinics to assist as satellite emergency departments capable of assisting patients with non emergent conditions
These clinics would need to capable of Tele Health Services to allow patients the opportunity to first call and speak with a medical professional prior to visiting a emergency department
Provide patients with an easy-to-use system of accessing care without having to make the trip to the emergency department
Allow for Emergency Clinics to refer patients to the Emergency Department to ensure that Emergency Departments are dealing with Emergency cases
Ramp up public messaging to keep the community informed of the added pressure Emergency Departments have to endure due to 65% of cases not being true emergencies
Develop an incentive program to help convert GP clinics to be able to handle certain types of cases
Enable the program to cover certain clinics to be open till 10 PM as peak emergency departments hours are between 8am and 10pm (80% of activity)
Enable other clinics to function around the clock
Strategically well-placed clinics could reduce the burden on emergency departments
An additional recommendation would be to augment Ambulance Hubs / Fire and Emergence centres to act as Emergency Clinics

Perceived Benefits
Assists with the state's capacity building efforts
Development of redundancies to assist with unforeseen emergencies
Better outreach and faster care for patients
Creates more job opportunities in the space
Contributes to efficient healthcare delivery
Improved utilization of Emergency Department resources
Enhanced Facility Capability