Lessons Learnt Series - How Seattle Children's Hospital used innovative technologies to transform patient care

The start of the pandemic forced the healthcare industry to accelerate its innovation journey to meet the immediate needs of patients. Innovation has now become the second-most important strategic priority for healthcare professionals.
 
The pace of change in the healthcare industry across Australia is showing no signs of slowing anytime soon. Healthcare organisations are demanding new technologies to help build a framework that allows adaptability, standardisation and scalability, and are investigating how they can leverage innovation to deliver better care in the long term.
 
Healthcare organisations need to embrace new technology to manage operations efficiently and at scale, meeting ongoing patient needs. Advances in integrated care will not simply rely on medical innovations, but will also require a coordinated approach. This is already being demonstrated by hospitals in the United States.

The Seattle Children’s Hospital is integrating their work management platform with new tools, such as 3D printing, to enable surgeons to visualise and plan complex procedures in a timely and efficient manner. Embracing project management solutions help to ensure advancements in medical manufacturing can function efficiently and without error to support patient treatment.

Combining innovation with efficiency

Despite the spike in innovation investment, healthcare organisations also need supporting digital solutions to store and track corresponding information. Thirty-three percent of Australian healthcare professionals feel that a lack of interoperability across systems and platforms is the main barrier to data and technology reaching its full potential. 

The team at the Center for Clinical and Translational Research at Seattle Children’s Hospital have managed to combine innovative technologies with suitable work management software to ensure all information is stored in one place and can be tracked in real-time. The team works with surgeons to develop 3D anatomical models that help them visualise and plan intricate surgeries. The research team inputs project information into Smartsheet so they can track the request and translate the data into a design for the printed product. This ensures each patient receives a highly personalised level of care, and there is minimal likelihood for error. 

A data repository that fits everyone’s style

The impacts of COVID-19 revealed an ongoing crucial need for real-time data on patients. Solutions that facilitate real-time data exchange can improve care during the time of delivery, instead of in hindsight.

In addition to managing the 3D printing service, the Center for Clinical and Translational Research oversees radiology research. Using Smartsheet allows the team to track data and imaging files from multi-year research projects, printing requests, and discussions with surgeons and investigators. As weeks, months, and even years can pass between enrolments of new patients, the team needed a single place to capture study design and requirements that would be quick to review and follow even if it wasn’t fresh in their minds. 

More time to focus on patient care

Sixty percent of Australian healthcare executives rank improved patient experiences as one of their top business priorities, and it’s easy to see why – happier patients result in better health outcomes, more successful organisations, and more satisfied providers and staff. As a result, project management software is an attractive option, automating administrative workflows to free up time for higher-value activities for patients. 

The Center for Clinical and Translational Research teams don’t always have time to learn new software skills or project management techniques, especially if it is outside their daily work. The ease of use and intuitive interface of Smartsheet allow them to focus on delivering tailored care to patients. 

With dashboards to put program data at users’ fingertips, automation to reduce repetitive tasks, analytics to generate program insights, and easy cloud-based access, Smartsheet offers rich detail and flexibility to suit the level of personalisation that Seattle Children’s aims to deliver.
 

With Smartsheet – the enterprise platform for dynamic work – you can make the move to more efficient project management today with our 30-day free trial that comes with access to many pre-structured and customisable templates. Streamline your projects by following these best practices to increase consistency, from project initiation to completion.