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Sara Heath

Executive Editor, PatientEngagementHIT

Picking the right health IT is nuanced, so Nicklaus Children’s Health System focused on its pediatric population needs with its online appointment scheduling purchase.

March 07, 2024 – The patient access team at Nicklaus Children’s Health System knew it would have a lot of needs as it shopped around for a digital self-scheduling option. The Miami-based hospital system serves a pediatric population, 60 percent of whom are on Medicaid, so the team knew there’d be some complexities in selecting a health IT vendor.

But according to Leigh Bouskila, manager of patient access at Nicklaus Children’s Pediatric Specialists (NCPS), the physician group arm of the health system, those complexities were met with a self-scheduling tool from Kyruus Healthcare. The technology, plus a phased-in approach, has NCPS set up for success as it works to fortify its call center.

“When you call in to make an appointment, there are chances and days where it’s contingent on staffing and tech issues,” Bouskila told PatientEngagementHIT in an interview. “So, if you call in on a day that it’s super busy, like a Monday morning, patients are waiting a long time. We did a lot of work to see how we can optimize the call center. There was a review of our staffing, and then we also looked at the hours that you’re able to call in to schedule an appointment.”

Continue reading the full story here on PatientEngagementHIT.