Rivas Zorggroep is a large regional partner (Gorinchem region) that provides integrated care at the Beatrix Hospital, as well as home nursing, rehabilitation, and residential care. Continuous coordination between care partners is critical to handling patients safely and efficiently; therefore, Rivas is always look for innovative support.
‘The initiative to further streamline patient care coordination came from the work group communication, in which both general practitioners and specialists participate,’ says project leader Bregje van den Heuvel. ‘And the nice thing was, once we started talking about it, we realised that many colleagues were already using Siilo. The question very quickly went from “what can we do?” to “How can we use Siilo even more efficiently?”’
Easy communication
‘Telephone calls are effective, provided that you get to talk to each other at the right moment, but Siilo helps you find each other faster. Asking questions is quick, and I can easily create a case for my colleague to respond to later, when it’s convenient. The fact that Siilo is completely safe for the exchange of medical data was a decisive factor for Rivas.’
‘We started an experiment,’ Bregje explains. ‘We wanted to know if Siilo could be used to get the right care at the right place, since that’s where there was most to be gained for GPs and specialists. Currently, 38 general practices and 11 specialties are participating and we’ve covered some 500 cases. With Rivas overal, we send about 650,000 messages via Siilo per month. These are project-surpassing numbers, but you could say that we’ve been successful in increasing regular communication and coordination via messenger.’
Rules of Engagement
‘An important factor for the trial’s success has been the fact that we’ve set some user guidelines. We agreed that the app would not be used for urgent cases. For those we still use the phone,’ says Bregje van den Heuvel. ‘After 19:00 and on weekends, we don’t share cases. Everyone needs rest and no urgency is no urgency. Another rule is that we respond within two days, although responses usually come in the same day.’
Organisation Network
Lisa de Waal has been involved in the experiment at Siilo. ‘Together with project manager Bregje van den Heuvel, we made a list of wishes and goals,’ she says. ‘One of Rivas’s priorities was to have its own organisational network. We built this network to ensure that everyone at Rivas could find each other directly. From there, Rivas care professionals can create their own groups for multidisciplinary projects.
‘Introducing a new tool naturally takes time, but with a clear communication and adaptation strategy that emphasises the value and correct use of Siilo, integration at Rivas went very smoothly. Bregje played an important role in this process as project leader and point of contact for questions. She also approached colleagues and partners personally about participating. The more care workers using Siilo Messenger, the greater the shared benefit for the organisation.’
Better patient care
‘Due to active promotion and the demonstrable advantages of an active network, not only the number of users doubled since the start of the experiment, but we’ve also seen a corresponding growth in interactions. The number of messages exchanged per month is astonishing. For Siilo, this is a powerful example of how the right tool can make an impact on efficient communication in healthcare organisations, and we’re ready to see how we can further improve patient care together with Rivas Care Group.’
Read the full testimonial on our Case Study page.