Custom care pathway planning software for outpatient clinics
Appfront builds software for outpatient clinics that schedules patients according to a care pathway. On referral, the entire pathway is scheduled at once: initial consultation, tests, results discussion, in the right order and, where possible, on a single day. The planner sees where capacity is lacking, patients come in less often, and for each care pathway you can see how long it takes from referral to results.
What is care pathway planning software for the outpatient clinic?
In an outpatient clinic, a patient often follows a fixed pathway: an initial consultation, one or more tests such as blood sampling, imaging or a function test, and a results discussion. The order is fixed, and some steps need time in between. For certain complaints, clinics offer rapid diagnostics, where everything happens on a single day wherever possible. A care pathway describes that pathway; care pathway planning schedules it.
In many hospitals, care pathways are scheduled appointment by appointment. The planner looks for a consultation, then a slot with radiology, then a results consultation, and calls the patient three times. When one test is moved, the sequence no longer works. The patient comes in on three different days when it could have been done in one. And nobody knows exactly how long a pathway takes on average.
We build custom software because care pathway planning has to fit your outpatient clinic: which care pathways you run, which examinations and equipment belong to them, how your schedules are set up in the EHR, and which rules your planners currently apply from memory. The software plans within the EHR schedules and does not replace them.
Entire pathway in one go
On referral, the whole care pathway is scheduled in the right order and with the right intervals.
On one day where possible
Appointments combined on one day where capacity and sequence allow.
Turnaround time in view
For each care pathway, how long it takes from referral to results, and where it gets stuck.
How we build your care pathway planning software for the outpatient clinic
We start with one care pathway: which steps, which rules, which schedules, and how it is currently planned.
Steps, sequence, intervals, tests and the rules planners follow.
Plan the entire care pathway in one go within the EHR schedules.
Capacity of clinics, rooms and equipment, and where things get stuck.
All appointments in a single message to the patient, reporting, and then management.
What care pathway planning software for the outpatient clinic actually does
The components below come up in almost every outpatient clinic with care pathways. Which ones you need depends on your pathways.
Care pathways
Steps, sequence and intervals per care pathway.
Pathway planning
The entire pathway scheduled in one go on referral.
One day
Appointments combined on one day where possible.
Capacity
Clinics, examination rooms and equipment per day.
Bottlenecks
Where a care pathway gets stuck and why.
Lead time
From referral to results per care pathway.
Who care pathway planning software for the outpatient clinic is built for
The software is intended for outpatient clinics where pathways are currently scheduled appointment by appointment.
Hospitals
Many care pathways and departments. Planning across departments is the core.
Rapid diagnostics
Everything on one day. Combining appointments matters most.
Treatment centres
Fixed pathways with little variation. Turnaround time is what it needs to be.
Diagnostic centres
Tests for referrers. Equipment capacity is the core.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
This page is about planning care pathways in the outpatient clinic. For chronic care pathways, see our page on care pathway software, for appointment booking by patients our page on a patient appointment portal, and for healthcare in general our page on healthcare software. You can read about our way of working at getting software built.
For healthcare providers who want to schedule referrals from ZorgDomein directly, there is our page on a ZorgDomein integration.
Why Appfront for your care pathway planning software for the outpatient clinic?
A patient who has to come in three times for one diagnosis loses time and certainty. That is what we build around: pathways scheduled in one go, on one day where possible, and turnaround times you can manage.
Fewer visits
Appointments are combined where possible.
Fewer calls
The entire pathway is scheduled and communicated in one go.
Managing turnaround time
For each care pathway you can see where it gets stuck.
Security and privacy for care pathway planning software for the outpatient clinic
The software processes data about patients and their care, which is special category personal data. Access is set up by role, data comes from the EHR and is not stored more often than necessary, and every access is logged.
The software runs in a European data centre or within the hospital's own environment, with encrypted storage, daily backups and two-factor authentication.
Frequently asked questions about outpatient care pathway planning software
Questions outpatient clinics ask before getting started.
On receiving a referral, it plans the entire care pathway in one go, with the correct sequence and intervals, combines appointments on one day where possible, shows capacity and bottlenecks, and measures throughput time per care pathway.
No. The software plans within the EHR schedules and records the appointments there. It adds what the EHR often cannot do: planning an entire pathway at once according to the rules of the care pathway.
That software follows patients over a long period, with check-ups and home measurements. This software plans a pathway in the outpatient clinic, usually diagnostic, from referral to results.
Yes, provided capacity and sequence allow it. Where that isn't possible, the software places the appointments as close together as possible, within the pathway's intervals.
The software detects that the sequence or interval no longer works and proposes moving the following appointments. The planner makes the decision.
Yes, in a single message with date, time, location and preparation for each appointment, via the channels the hospital uses.
Check that first. Some EHRs offer trajectory planning, and that is enough if your care pathways fit within it. Custom software makes sense if your rules differ, if equipment and rooms need to be counted, or if you want to steer on lead time.
The entire care pathway planned at once?
Tell us which care pathways you have, which examinations belong to them and how planning is done now. We will show you what pathway planning, capacity and throughput time look like.