PA Consulting Group, an innovation and transformation consultancy, partnered with the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) and the American Thoracic Society (ATS) to develop the Clinician Matching Network – a national level clearinghouse to match medical staff with the hospitals that need them most during the pandemic.
The effort was launched in response to need for additional staffing in hotspots, especially New York City. Using the existing CHEST Analytics platform, more than 350 clinicians initially signed up to bolster the struggling hospital system in New York.
That positive initial response encouraged CHEST to join with AST and PA Consulting to create the Clinician Matching Network. The new platform eliminates lag between a clinician applying and then getting word about an assignment, with information being verified quickly. It also has the benefit of reducing strain on other application systems.
The online platform is a two-way matching system – accepting applications from clinicians as well as healthcare facilities. Hospitals specify their needs and requirements, and then clinicians are matched accordingly.
“We saw the need for this type of system because of New York City, but we anticipate that additional geographic regions will need similar support in the days and weeks ahead. This joint effort allows us to hopefully move ahead of the curve in some places. It’s also giving us a model for how we can increase crisis capacity for hospitals in the future,” said Karen Collishaw, CAE executive director of the ATS.
PA Consulting leveraged its deep expertise in digital and IT transformation to help quickly launch the platform.
“One of the benefits of the Clinician Matching Network for hospitals is the fact that we have already matched their need to the skills and availability of the clinician,” said Bret Schroeder, healthcare provider lead at PA Consulting. “There will be no cross-over resulting in double bookings or mismatches that can use up precious time and resources that are already being stretched.”
Headquartered in London, PA Consulting was founded in 1943 and has 3,200 experts across Europe and the United States. The innovation-focused firm delivers offerings in strategy, operations, product design and engineering, digital, AI and analytics, and cybersecurity, among other areas.