National Dental Centre Singapore improves clinician workflow efficiency with digital app

• Zühlke developed a proof-of-concept (POC) app to streamline NDCS’ clinical workflows through real-time consultation requests and notifications.
• Collaborative workshops and user journey mapping identified key operational pain points, driving iterative development of the app.
• NDCS received positive feedback on the app, with possible plans for future digital transformation projects.
   

The National Dental Centre Singapore (NDCS) is Singapore’s largest flagship specialty centre for oral healthcare.

NDCS provides a wide range of specialist oral care services encompassing oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics and restorative dentistry.

NDCS clinicians juggle demanding schedules between clinical, administrative and research work. Clinicians often need to coordinate closely with colleagues for support in delivering effective care.

Scheduling processes at NDCS had been manual or impromptu coordination, such as ad-hoc hallway conversations to check availability. This leads to longer waiting time for patients who require additional consultations.

The challenge was operational in nature, primarily stemming from gaps in digital infrastructure. In a critical industry like healthcare, managers must make efficiency a top priority, as it directly affects the quality of patient care.

To address these issues, NDCS enlisted Zühlke’s support to digitalise engagements between dentists and patients within the dental centre. The collaboration resulted in a proof-of-concept (POC) that could help resolve the scheduling and availability challenges faced by the clinicians.

Rapid innovation and problem-solving

The Zühlke team took a user-centric, human-first approach to solving the problem. The process began by engaging the NDCS team in a product discovery and design strategy workshop. The process involved considerable hands-on work with the client to map the user journey, identify pain points, and pinpoint the clinicians’ most critical needs.

Onsite visits were also conducted to study how the clinic floor operated, observing how clinicians moved and interacted with each other within the space. Clinicians’ insights were sought and recorded, to capture the overall user experience.

This collaborative approach allowed Zühlke to refine the solution rapidly and ensure that it met the real-world requirements of NDCS clinicians. The process led to Zühlke’s creation of a smartphone application that digitised the process of requesting ad-hoc assistance within NDCS.

The POC solution is centred around a "raise hand" button that clinicians or specialists can push whenever they need assistance with procedures. The app then sends a notification to other clinicians, following predefined rules to ensure help is appropriately directed.

Operational efficiency and workflow optimisation in one app

With the “raise hand” feature in place, clinicians no longer need to contact colleagues individually to get help, or schedule interventions manually. They can simply press the “raise hand” button on the app to request assistance from colleagues with relevant expertise.

This system effectively streamlines consultation requests and prioritises responses based on urgency and required specialty. Multiple layers of notifications ensure help requests are managed effectively across different clinical roles.

By reducing manual communication, clinicians can focus more on patient care rather than logistical coordination.

Early and frequent client engagement was crucial to the success of the project. Zühlke used iterative development cycles, conducting weekly reviews and feedback sessions with NDCS stakeholders to refine the app. This all-hands, wide-open approach helped to highlight the real problems faced by NDCS’s staff in daily operations and identify the underlying issues early on to co-develop targeted solutions.

By closely involving NDCS clinicians in the development process, Zühlke ensured that the app met not only NDCS's technical needs, but also addressed the real-world challenges of the clinicians.

A user-centric approach to improving operational efficiency

NDCS provided highly positive feedback after initial trials with the app after the project concluded at the POC phase.

In the short term, clinicians who tested the app enjoyed the added convenience it delivered and expressed enthusiasm about its potential for future use. In the long term, the “raise hand” iOS app provided NDCS with a viable solution showcase, laying the groundwork for further digital transformation projects within the organisation.

Zühlke’s collaboration with NDCS highlighted the importance of process-driven innovation in addressing operational challenges. By prioritising user experience and leveraging iterative development, Zühlke helped NDCS create a digital tool with the potential to significantly improve clinical workflows.