Why Texas Colon & Rectal Specialists Replaced Paper Prep Instructions (and Saved 400 Staff Hours in a Month)

Texas Colon & Rectal Specialists

Case study · September 2018

Nancy Bowman, Executive Director, TCRS

"We wanted to improve communications with our patients, especially those who have just had a procedure or major surgery, and ensure their safe and quick recovery."

patient engagement (vs. typical 30–40%)88%

staff hours saved in one month400+

monthly savings~$2,000

The largest colorectal practice in the US reached 88% patient engagement with one solution.

About TCRS

Texas Colon & Rectal Specialists is the largest colorectal practice in the US: 17 specialists, 18 locations, 2,000+ surgeries and 8,000+ colonoscopies a year.

The goal

Executive Director Nancy Bowman wanted one patient-facing solution for patient flow, procedure prep and post-procedure monitoring with patient-reported outcomes (PROMs). TCRS found Qure4u through athenahealth.

The solution

TCRS uses Care Plans for step-by-step prep, the MyCarePlan app for telehealth, messaging and vitals, bi-directional EMR integration, and ERAS protocol support.

The results

In August 2018 alone: about 3,000 patients, 13,000+ documents, about 15,000 tasks, 400+ staff hours saved, and about $2,000 a month in savings from simpler pre- and post-procedure management.

About Qure4u

Founder Dr. Monica Bolbjerg created the world's first patient portal in 2001 and founded Qure4u in 2015.