Post eLetter Solutions: Healthy Results for Improving Patient Communication Processes at the Royal Hobart Hospital

Abstract

The primary objective of the Australia Post eLetter project¹ was to determine the feasibility of using the eLetter service with the Patient Administration System Appointment Scheduling Module to provide a fully automated mailing function that would eliminate the need for manual processing of mail delivery. Issues with timely delivery of letters throughout all outpatient sites at the Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH) have been identified as being mainly due to limited human resources being available to perform mailing duties and the like. This new desktop service enables staff to transmit data electronically in conjunction with the appointment software for large quantity mail postings to Australia Post via a secure line. Australia Post then validates the address, appends a barcode, prints the letter, envelopes it and inserts it into the mail distribution network in the state of the recipient. This article depicts the process that has eliminated the manual processing of a letter via the traditional Microsoft application, Wordmate, a system at RHH that was always difficult to use. With the introduction of eLetter, the RHH's Specialist Clinics have significantly improved the timeliness and quality of communication with patients as well as reducing administration tasks for staff.