International Perspectives in Health Care Logistics

Speaker: Anneke Fitzgerald (co-author Joanne Curry)

Title: Patient Journey Modelling: a patient centric approach to heal (f)ailing healthcare systems

Abstract: Patient journey modelling (PJM) involves the diagrammatic representation and analysis of how patients move through the overall system of care and determining how this can be improved.  PJM provides an end-to-end view of the system of care as experienced by the patient. The modelling tool, known as Essomenic, is the world’s only healthcare specific patient journey modelling tool, purpose built for healthcare from the ground-up.  It allows the inclusion of additional dimensions that other modelling approaches ignore. These include patient needs, evidence-based clinical practice, complex multiple-path process flows, and comprehensive metrics. Additionally, Essomenic is highly graphical, making it easy for both clinical and non-clinical staff to comprehend. It is a patented instrument invented as part of Joanne Curry’s PhD and has been shown to have significant benefits over incumbent techniques in relation to more complete and information rich outputs, increased staff understanding of the journey, support for the change process, realistic and achievable recommendations for improvement and improved patient outcomes and satisfaction levels.

The PJM also functions as the primary method for the diffusion of innovation to involved stakeholders.  The developed visual model aims to cross departmental and disciplinary boundaries thus facilitating effective analysis of the current state and supporting collaborative identification of multi-disciplinary improvement opportunities. PJM is a foundational concept for the identification of opportunities for improvement and the redesign of new models of care.

This talk gives an overview of the Patient Journey Modelling tool “Essomenic” by applying it to two recent improvement projects:

  1. Changing the system of care in a birthing clinic in the inner west of Sydney, Australia.
  2. Changing the system of care for indigenous Australian women in the Northern Territory, Australia.