NEJM Catalyst Publishes Case Study Detailing Success of Arizona Surge Line, Driven by Central Logic's Technology Platform
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ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Central Logic, the leading healthcare access and orchestration company, announced today that NEJM Catalyst, a renowned healthcare journal, has published a case study on the origin and successful outcomes of the Arizona Surge Line. The Surge Line is a statewide public-private collaboration run by the Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDHS) that includes all of the hospitals and health systems in the state. It's powered by Central Logic's technology platform, expediting patient transfers and equitably distributing patients with COVID-19 across the state's hospitals.
"Collaboration on the Arizona Surge Line: How Covid-19 Became the Impetus for Public, Private, and Federal Hospitals to Function as One System" was authored by physician leaders from AZDHS as well as Arizona hospital and health system leaders from across the state and Central Logic clinicians assigned to the Surge Line. Authors tell the story of how the Surge Line, which features a 24/7 referral line, has facilitated the rapid placement and equal distribution of thousands of patients with COVID-19 across the state since April 2020. "It is an honor to have played an active role in a project that has helped so many people in the state of Arizona get the care they need by working with public health leaders to orchestrate the transfer of more than 6,000 patients with COVID-19," said Darin Vercillo, MD, chief medical officer and co-founder of Central Logic. "This kind of collaboration was our vision when we founded Central Logic over a decade ago, and it is tremendously humbling and gratifying to see it come to fruition during the pandemic we have been experiencing since early last year." Preparation and Rapid Action The health systems met and agreed to proceed with the public-private collaboration, marking an understanding that previous competitors would now be acting as collaborators in order to put patients first. With implementation support and technology solutions from Central Logic, the Surge Line was up and running in less than two weeks. It was not until months later in late June and early July when the state experienced its first major surge of patients with COVID-19, which required the Surge Line to transfer nearly 70 patients per day at its peak. "The Arizona Department of Health Services and hospitals in Arizona worked together to create this integrated, efficient statewide system to protect patients and hospitals against unbalanced hospital surges," said Lisa Villarroel, MD, MPH, Medical Director of Public Health Preparedness at AZDHS and the Surge Line. Delivering Statewide Visibility "Real-time bed visibility was a new feature that Central Logic was preparing to launch for our clients when the Surge Line began, which meant we had an opportunity to test the capability on its largest scale yet," said one of the article's authors, Luke Smith, DNP, RN, NE-BC, CCM, director of the Arizona Surge Line and client operations analyst at Central Logic. "Bed Visibility proved to be well up to the task by delivering a clear and reliable overview of capacity for the more than 130 hospitals across the state that are part of the Surge Line. We have since launched Bed Visibility for use by health systems and hospitals everywhere." After four months in operation, Surge Line participants were surveyed and asked to rate the system on a 10-point scale. Hospital staff who responded to the survey awarded the Surge Line nearly the highest ratings (between 8.2 and 9.0) on each question, with the highest rating (9.0) for its ability to transfer patients with COVID-19 to higher levels of care. Continuous Improvement Eventually, a time will come when the Surge Line will not be necessary to orchestrate the care for patients with COVID-19. The statewide system, however, has numerous applications beyond the pandemic, such as any future hospital surges due to wildfires, terrorism or other public health threats, and is piloting its use for transferring patients with influenza. "It is our intention to maintain the Surge Line as a public health tool," Dr. Villarroel said. "The Arizona Surge Line has been a highly successful initiative within the state, delivering a valuable public health resource to reduce avoidable care delays, prevent hospital overcrowding and contribute to improved patient outcomes." About Central Logic Media Contact
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