The Limburg feeling really exists. It explains why Jessa is fully committed to connectivity and collaboration in healthcare. Through the walls of the hospital with primary care as its most important ally. In addition to the far-reaching implementation of the Clinical Workstation (KWS), the hospital has launched numerous other initiatives to strengthen its ties with the local actors in the primary care sector. And what a success it was!

Long before the cooperation with nexuzhealth, Jessa had already realised the importance of smooth information exchanges between doctors-specialists in the hospital and local healthcare professionals. For example, there has been structural consultation between the management, the medical council and the board of the Herkenrode GP Circle for more than two decades. In addition, Jessa launched its own medical magazine for primary care years ago: JessaLinea. It is full of useful information from the hospital floor. This has not only resulted in a solid communication base, but has also brought about close and strong partnerships between doctors in recent years. Transmural care before its time, in other words. The integration of the Clinical Workstation (KWS) further strengthened Jessa's conviction concerning the importance of joining forces in the future. Not merely occasionally, but on a systematic basis.   

Full-fledged role

Charlotte Cleuren personifies this ambition. The Medical Management Policy employee at Jessa proved herself as a patient participation employee, was closely involved in the start-up of the eight primary care zones in Limburg, and subsequently, she personally acted as coordinator in the Southeast Limburg primary care zone. Her mission in Hasselt was therefore written in the stars: to further develop integrated care and cooperation with primary care actors. "I notice that not every hospital is working on this. Yet it is important to make it a fully-fledged role within the daily operations. Not necessarily a dedicated work force, but someone who forges a link between certain projects and the primary care. And then reaches out to the right person. Because ultimately, a strongly developed network is of crucial importance."

Switching quickly is key

Jessa therefore regularly takes initiatives to get to know each other better while exposing weak points within information and knowledge sharing. At the end of December, for instance, there was a symposium on the possibilities of nexuzhealth pro. Besides local GPs, the over 200 - partly online - attendees included quite a few employees of the White and Yellow Cross and even several patient representatives. Charlotte Cleuren: "For us, the symposium was not a one-off organisation or a quick win, but rather a new benchmark to further streamline the use of nexuzhealth. Of course, it is true that people are still encountering issues. This is a digitisation project. Our motto: don't ignore that feedback and use it right away.”

Charlotte and her colleagues swiftly put together a key user group. In this group, about six GPs present concrete bottlenecks in their constituencies to specialists and Jessa's Clinical Workstation manager. They provide the required tips & tricks and, wherever necessary, contact nexuzhealth to work out appropriate solutions.

From hotlines to networking moments

Less formal moments also limit the distance to the primary care. For instance, Jessa jointly organises a New Year's reception every year for all hospital doctors and GPs in collaboration with the Herkenrode Huisartsenkring. A guest speaker and projected theme slides provide the necessary talking points. The underlying aim is the same each time: to stimulate interaction. Discussion if necessary. 

Jessa resolutely adopts this line in its medical magazine. Each edition brings together various care providers through (double) interviews and also features a fixed section in which a GP puts some questions to specialists from one or more fields. And then there are the Jessa hotlines: specific phone numbers on which GPs can quickly and directly contact a doctor-specialist. Personal numbers are also already being exchanged more and more readily.   

A convergence of interests

Among all these transmural levers, social media are also increasingly playing the role of efficient communication tools. Take the Instagram page of the Jessa maternity ward, for example. It resolutely aims to increase brand awareness by posting fun facts and news about pregnancy, childbirth and maternity. Again with references to primary care. "Here too, we are constantly looking for cooperation", emphasises Charlotte Cleuren. "In fact, we recently organised a symposium on low-risk pregnancies to organise and transmurally shape the care pathway for pregnant women together with doctors, GPs, gynaecologists and midwives. Thanks to our strong connection with the GP circle, we quickly knew which professionals to involve."

A nice addition: the local GP circle is based on the ground floor of the hospital. A dedicated location has also been provided for it within Jessa's new building plans.  Charlotte Cleuren: "Because of this physical proximity, it is very easy to find each other. But of course everyone concerned with care have to be on the same page. We are all in agreement: integrated care does not stop at the hospital's revolving doors. We must always start from the patient and join hands as care providers to ensure alignment throughout the care pathway. In Hasselt, but soon also within Andreaz, we form a strong network with three other Limburg hospitals. This accounts for 750 doctors and 5,600 employees who help promote our healthcare vision and, together with all primary care partners in the region, elevate transmural care to the highest level."