Overview
Client
Medline
Project
Incontinence Solutions Program
Outcome
A comprehensive program designed to fit the right incontinence product on the right person, improving care efficiency and clinical outcomes in long-term care facilities.
Project Background
Medline's development partners, Pariveda Solutions, approached James Utley and I with a request to design an order form for their incontinence products. However, during our initial design workshop, we realized that the project's scope needed to be redefined to better address the users' needs. By putting ourselves in the users' shoes and asking, "Why am I here today?" we shifted the focus from simply ordering products to ensuring the right product fit for each individual.
Initial Goal
“To help long-term care facilities order incontinence products efficiently and reliably.”
Revised Goal
“How do we fit the right diaper on the right person?”
This shift in perspective led to the development of Medline's Incontinence Solutions Program, a comprehensive approach that combines high-quality products with education and tools to improve continence care.
Incontinence Solutions Program
Mission Statement
Incontinence Solutions: Know how. Create the best outcomes when quality, education, and value align.
Continence care is everyone’s business. That’s why Medline has made it their business to provide the tools and education facilities need to create a high-quality, dignified patient experience. The program helps optimize product use, lower costs, educate caregivers, and improve clinical outcomes.
The Challenge
The annual cost of managing urinary incontinence in long-term care facilities is $5.3 billion. Medline needed a solution that would not only address the financial burden but also improve the quality of care and efficiency in managing incontinence.
The Solution
Incontinence Solutions Program
Medline's comprehensive, easy-to-implement Incontinence Solutions Program emphasizes practice and technique combined with high-quality products to help caregivers manage incontinence effectively. The program includes:
Online Education Courses
Nurse Workbooks
Know How Forms and Tools
FitRight Navigator Tool
FitRight Navigator Tool
The FitRight Navigator Tool is a key component of the program, designed to help facilities trim costs while improving care. It delivers customized product, sizing, and ordering recommendations based on data from electronic health records (EHRs).
Key Features
Individualize Resident Care
Provides personalized product recommendations for each resident, including size and type of product (e.g., brief, liner, absorption level) to help prevent leaks and protect the skin.
Increase Efficiency, Decrease Cost: Proper product selection results in fewer hours spent on incontinence cleanups and lower product utilization, freeing up staff time for clinical care and supporting the facility's bottom line.
Ensure Staff Compliance
Product recommendations are embedded in the ordering process, with overrides allowed only by designated staff members.
Track Performance
Generates benchmarks based on facility data, allowing for optimization of cost savings.
The FitRight Navigator Tool is fully integrated with PointClickCare and compatible with other major EHRs.
From a goal to a journey a storyboard mapped the requirements for the final prototype
Client Testimonial
“As a market leader of incontinence products, Medline has built a trusted relationship with our company. We are thrilled and honored to interface with FitRight – such a comprehensive, user-friendly continence assessment tool.”
— Mike Wessinger, CEO, PointClickCare
— Mike Wessinger, CEO, PointClickCare
Conclusion
By redefining the project's goal and focusing on the user's needs, we helped Medline create the Incontinence Solutions Program. This program not only addresses the financial and operational challenges of managing incontinence in long-term care facilities but also enhances the quality of care and dignity for residents. The comprehensive approach, combining high-quality products with education and tools, ensures that caregivers can provide the best possible care while optimizing efficiency and reducing costs.
