Centralized placement process solution for patient flow management

The article presents a case study of implementing a new solution for patient placement in the South Karelia District of Social and Health Services (Eksote). Eksote is a forerunner in the development of health and social care services in Finland, as it combines primary and secondary health care, elderly care and social care in a totally new way, covering eight municipalities that worked independently earlier.The paper describes a new operating model and a supporting information system for the patient placement process. The focus is on the short term patient placement process which covers the placement of patients from specialized health care wards to rehabilitation wards. The article describes empirical experiences gained about the actual usage of the solution in daily operations. At annual level, thousands of patients are placed by using the developed solution, which has proved to improve both the efficiency and the effectiveness of the patient flow management process significantly