Using a real-time location system to improve clinical efficiency in an academic ambulatory practice

Author's Biography

Rodney Haas is the Vice President of Operational Excellence at University of Minnesota Physicians, where he leads the development and deployment of enterprise-wide Lean methodology, strategies and framework to create a culture of continuous improvement, accountability and sustainment. He began his career as a mechanical engineer and was introduced to Lean while working at NUMMI, a joint venture between Toyota and General Motors. He continued learning and deploying Lean tools after transitioning first to the GM Cadillac Care Division and later to an independent consultancy, where he spent 12 years working with automotive, service and healthcare organisations. He joined UM Physicians in 2006.

Genevieve Melton-Meaux is a Professor of Surgery and Core Faculty of the Institute for Health Informatics at the University of Minnesota (UMN). She is a practicing colorectal surgeon with interests in colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, minimally invasive techniques and individualised treatment plans for complex patients. She serves as the Chief Data and Health Informatics Officer (CDHIO) for Fairview Health Services, where she leads efforts to improve the institution’s enterprise electronic health record (EHR) and other health information technology (HIT) for patient care and the organisation’s data and analytics strategy. Her research interests include clinical colorectal surgery, improving note usage in EHRs, evaluating standards in practice, clinical natural language processing (NLP) and improving surgical care with informatics. She co-leads the UMN Clinical NLP-IE Research Group and serves nationally on the Clinical Informatics Subspecialty Board Examination Committee of the American Board of Preventative Medicine, the healthcare information technology research (HITR) study section for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Informatics Committee of the American College of Surgeons, Program Committee for the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgery, and the Clinical Informatics Specialty Maintenance of Certification Committee for the American Medical Informatics Association.

Jeffrey Blade is the System Director, Enterprise Computing Services, at Fairview Health Services. He leads the teams that support Network, Compute (Wintel/Unix/Linux), Storage and Backup/Recovery. After serving in the Air Force, he graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and started his career in information technology as a web developer. He has been at Fairview since October 2014 in multiple roles after previous engagements at HealthPartners/Park Nicollet, United Health Group, Hallmark and Kodak. He enthusiastically believes in the healthcare mission — and the vision to embrace technology to benefit patients’ experience and outcomes.

Lynne Fiscus is a primary care physician who serves as the Chief Value Officer and Executive Medical Director for the University of North Carolina Physicians Network. Graduating from Georgetown University with a degree in Theology, she completed medical school and residency in internal medicine and paediatrics at the University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill. She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and American Academy of Pediatrics and holds a Master of Public Health. She formerly served as the Executive Medical Director for Ambulatory Clinics for University of Minnesota Health, where she was grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the development of the Clinics and Surgery Center.

Michael Pukszta is the leader of CannonDesign’s healthcare practice — one of the most respected global health design firms. With expertise across a broad range of topics, including academic medical centres and cancer care, he offers critical insight into the innumerable social, economic and human variables that impact healthcare environments. In addition to partnering with health systems, he serves on the Board of Directors and leads CannonDesign’s highly regarded futures, research and education programmes, which have been essential to advancing a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges healthcare clients face. Sought after for his forward-thinking perspective on healthcare, he has contributed to dozens of articles, such as Fast Company, Becker’s Hospital Review, Quartz, STAT and Healthcare Design, and has given educational presentations at over 50 conferences, symposia and roundtable events across the world. His perspectives come from his 30 years of architectural practice, where he has created capital solutions for many top healthcare institutions — and are informed by a deep conviction that the built environment has a dramatic influence on health.