In 2016, a new role was created at the HUG: the Patient Pathway Manager. The job of this professional is to plan the patient’s route through the hospital. In short, they optimize the length of hospitalization and help doctors and nurses to anticipate transfers and discharge. An optimal length of stay actively contributes to the safety and quality of care.
The Patient Pathway Manager also has the role of improving the quality of clinical documentation for community physicians. All examinations, procedures and treatments are translated into a coded language common to all Swiss hospitals. This exercise has proven to be essential for billing services, as well as for assessing the quality of care in comparison to other hospitals.
The HUG now has eight Patient Pathway Managers and is evaluating the need to deploy new ones in other clinical services.