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    Innovative ideas on display during first Gateway Academy poster day

    Innovative ideas on display during first Gateway Academy poster day

    Photo By Tech. Sgt. Michael Ellis | Senior Airman Jessica Harris, 559th Aerospace Medicine Squadron public health...... read more read more

    SAN ANTONIO, TX, UNITED STATES

    10.16.2015

    Story by Staff Sgt. Michael Ellis 

    59th Medical Wing Public Affairs

    JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- More than a dozen units presented their latest initiatives on improving workflow efficiency in the workplace when the 59th Medical Wing's Gateway Academy hosted the organization's first Lean Poster Day Oct. 16, 2015, at the Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center.

    Developed by the wing's Gateway Innovation Center and launched in November 2014, the Gateway Academy focuses on providing students with instruction from a myriad of experts in innovation, process improvement, leadership and customer service. Each student must conduct a process improvement project over the duration of the class.

    A Poster Day submission from 59th MDW Public Health was the focus of one such improvement project.

    The Public Health Physical Health Assessments Office is responsible for reviewing Airmen's annual health assessments and monitoring the status of their individual medical readiness.

    Their project tracked the physical health assessments and sought to reduce the "causes that would lead to a member being marked as 'red,'" explained Senior Airman Jessica Harris, 559th Aerospace Medicine Squadron public health technician.

    The PHA cell started pulling data in June showing the number of assessments that were not being completed within the 30 day requirement that Airmen are given.

    "If a member's individual medical readiness status shows they are red, they become ineligible for worldwide deployment," said Harris. "So if they receive a tasking during that timeframe, it now puts the member and the medical staff in a time crunch to get them cleared for that deployment."

    The primary cause? Physicians were not signing off on the PHAs on time, explained Harris. "There was an extreme shortage in manning, about 50 percent."

    Harris also said the second leading cause for overdue assessments was members not completing their online assessments. Now, after consulting with members and others in the approval process, the percentage of overdue PHAs has dropped from 32 percent in June to 27 percent in August.

    "Overall, with an increase in available medical staff, more PHAs are being processed and fewer are overdue. Lines of communication have improved between members of the health care team," she added.

    Another project that identified a need for better communication between the patient and provider involved administering the Prevnar 13 vaccine to elderly patients in the Internal Medicine Clinic.

    In the United States, about 18,000 adults, 65 and older, die from pneumonia each year, according to the National Foundation of Infectious Diseases. Prevnar 13 protects against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria. It is not a required immunization, but it prevents pneumonia in elderly patients who are more susceptible. Initially, this information was not being conveyed to the patient. An internal medicine team briefed technicians, nurses and providers about the importance of counseling patients about the optional Prevnar 13.

    Originally, they found that 32 percent of patients, 65 years of age and older, were not told about the benefits of the immunization. The process changed, patients began taking the vaccine, and this led to actual cost savings for the 59th Medical Wing.

    Given the relative value unit - a measure used to calculate how much compensation is received from TRICARE for physician services - educating patients and having them take the Prevnar 13 vaccine was bringing back dollars.

    The clinic was losing more than $2,400, approximately $187 per patient, over the course of two weeks, said Harris.

    The Internal Medicine Clinic hopes to continue providing exceptional health care and advice to TRICARE beneficiaries while recouping some of those lost dollars, and it's all because the academy is helping us get there, she added.

    "The purpose for our Gateway Academy Lean Poster Day is to recognize our members for using teamwork and innovation to improve quality, service, and value," said Senior Master Sgt. Alan Weary, chief of the 59th MDW Gateway Academy. "Their projects showed how the members of our organization are consistently improving processes to create the perfect patient experience for all our beneficiaries.'"

    The Gateway Academy is slated to host Lean Poster Days quarterly.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 10.16.2015
    Date Posted: 05.03.2016 16:25
    Story ID: 197187
    Location: SAN ANTONIO, TX, US

    Web Views: 51
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN