Gastroenterology Associates of Central Virginia: Increasing Productivity and Saving Time by Switching to gGastro

Learn how one GI group lowered costs, increased endo procedures, and saved time on each patient

BACKGROUND

Over the years, Gastroenterology Associates of Central Virginia has grown from a two-physician, three-staff office, to an eight-physician, six-nurse-practitioner office with over 90 support staff, an AAAHC-accredited endoscopy center and a research division.

The practice was using separate software systems in the office, endoscopy center and hospital. Interface interruptions were frequent and required manual data transfer that was time-consuming. The physicians decided to make a change to the gGastro^® suite from ModMed^®, which includes gGastro Endoscopy Report Writer (ERW), gGastro EHR software, gPM practice management system, and ModMed Pay for payment processing.

Endoscopy Nurse Manager Jennifer Brown shares how switching to the all-in-one gastroenterology software has lowered costs, helped the practice conduct more endo procedures and saved time on each patient.

ALL-IN-ONE COST SAVINGS

gGastro has eliminated duplicate charting. Having an all-in-one GI-specific platform, compared to disjointed systems, ensures the patient information is always up to date and accessible in the office chart, in the endo chart, and in the hospital chart. For example, if we’re logged into the chart from the endo center, we can view the office visit notes on the same screen, including prescriptions. I can see what’s going on with that patient from start to finish — from the time they contacted our office until their procedure is complete.

Our previous solutions required a full-time third-party IT person to manage the various platforms and deal with the multiple interface issues we experienced. That extra resource and cost is no longer needed with gGastro. Additionally, the cost and man-hours of data input from one system to another are saved. In the endo center, we had two staff members who left for personal reasons, and I didn’t have to replace those people. We are able to work with two fewer FTEs because we don’t need to spend extra time manually entering information. The cost savings have been across the board.

SAVING TIME PER PATIENT

With the gGastro suite, we’re able to track the patient’s length of stay, withdrawal times, canceled appointments, no-shows, etc. We’ve gained insight into increased efficiencies and the areas that could use improvement.

We’ve discovered that the prep time for the patient in the pre-op area is at least six minutes faster now. That six-minute saving is hugely satisfying for the patient and for us. Throughput is now faster, so we can do more endo procedures in a day. Some of our doctors added two more cases per day, and that speaks to the flow and the efficiency that we were able to gain with the gGastro system.

STREAMLINED SCHEDULING AND CHECK-IN

The use of gPM, gPortal and gKiosk has sped up scheduling and streamlined check-in.

When we were working in two systems for scheduling the office and the endo center, if a patient was canceled in one system, it didn’t always remove it from the other. So it appeared that the appointment slot was filled. Now with gGastro, the schedules are all in one place, so we can easily track our appointment openings and get patients in quickly who need to be seen.

The productivity tracking is amazing. For example, I can see how productive a scheduler is in real-time. With our previous systems, there were many cumbersome steps to go through, and that process is significantly streamlined now with gPM. I have been able to reassign four schedulers to other tasks because it is much smoother in that department and more patients are being scheduled.

The use of the gPortal helps decrease the amount of time we spend inputting data manually. When a patient completes their intake information via the gPortal, it goes directly into their chart. Their overall health history is easily accessible, so you can ask if anything changed and move on. The amount of time spent reviewing all of that information has been cut down a lot.

Also, the use of gKiosk in the waiting room has been instrumental in helping us easily capture all of the relevant information electronically if they haven’t completed it in the portal. The whole process is more efficient.

WELL WORTH THE SWITCH

When it was apparent that we needed to make a change, our physicians connected with other gastroenterologists around the country who used gGastro. The feedback shared was how customizable the system is to their workflow, versus adjusting workflows around the system. The pre-op notes, op notes, nursing notes, etc. can be built how you want them to flow.

With gGastro, we’ve been able to save time, increase our procedures, and save hours of manual work. Time is money, and I can’t see how anyone wouldn’t find this GI-specific suite to be more efficient. All of the data is in the same place and streamlined into one chart, rather than separate. There’s less room for error.

The system is great, but the customer service is truly impeccable. If we’re having an issue, I can get someone from support right away, or they’ll call me back that day. The ModMed team and the GI-specific all-in-one system made it an easy switch for our group.

The statements and conclusions contained herein reflect the opinions of Jennifer Brown and not those of ModMed. ModMed makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy of any such information. Results may vary depending on medical practice size, product usage and other variables.

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