Clinical Innovations and Awards

BWH emergency department surgical consultant “image review” (2020)

Led the creation of a novel workflow to allow Orthopedic Surgery and Neurosurgery consultants to review radiology studies and make focused recommendations in selected cases without engaging in a full consultation, which creates more consultant bandwidth without jeopardizing the quality of care.

Partners High-sensitivity Troponin Assay Integration (2017)

Led the interdisciplinary team of emergency physicians, cardiologists and laboratory medicine leaders to create a new chest pain pathway to accommodate the adoption of the Roche 5th-gen troponin T assay across all Partners hospitals.

BWH Emergency Department “Front End Team” (2016)

Created surge team of an attending physician, scribe, nurse and medical assistant to work out of the back of the waiting room during times of peak patient arrivals on weekdays. Starting with a pilot, we quickly iterated operations to land on a sustainable model, which was fully implemented in December of 2016. The department’s walkout rate immediately dropped by half from about 3.5% to 1.6%.

BWH Emergency Department Scribe Program (2016)

Led efforts to bring scribes into the BWH emergency department, where scribes had never previously worked. Permitted scheduling changes to reduce overlap of attending physicians and improve efficiency by facilitating independent clinical work.

Planning and Design of Second Observation Unit at BWH (2014)

BWH leadership recognized that more short-stay patients on inpatient services could be better cared for in a dedicated space that is designed and staffed to more efficiently meet their needs. I was the key leader in the planning and design of a second observation unit at BWH. The new unit, located on the 12th floor of the tower, opened in May 2014 and added another 10 beds of ED observation unit capacity.

BWH Observation Unit “Night Policy” (2010)

Created a new night policy for the ED observation unit. Patients were not able to sleep and rest in the ED observation unit due to loud noise and bright lights. Acknowledging that this problem was impacting our patients’ ability to recover and enjoy their experience, a new set of initiatives were implemented – these included a new visitor policy, a lights-out deadline, new curtains at the entrances with signage, the availability of earplugs and new headphones for the televisions.

Use of Scribes in the Urgent Care Setting at Foxborough Urgent Care (2010)

Pioneered the use of scribes in the urgent care setting at Foxborough Urgent Care, the first site in the Partners system to use scribes. Providers were not able to complete charts during their shift without adding significant wait times to patient care; by using scribes on high-volume days, providers can focus on direct patient-care activities, enjoy more personal patient interactions and minimize overtime for charting. Read more.

“Trigger System” at Foxborough Urgent Care (2010)

Developed “trigger system” at patient arrival to avoid the need for formal front-end triage process. Recognized that a rapid screening system initiated at the check-in desk with an emphasis on bringing patients quickly to the main clinical space would be more efficient than supporting a formal triage process. As a result, patient length of stay (and satisfaction) is greatly improved.