Evaluation and optimisation of Florence: An integrated, multi-component digital patient journey solution

Start Date

16 March 2023

End Date

30 March 2026

Project Participants

Five Faces, Sydney Local Health District, University of Sydney

Status: Completed

Tags: heath provider experience, patient experience, predictive analytics, service design, targeted health information

Opportunity

Public outpatient clinics require scalable, evidence‑based digital solutions to manage growing demand, reduce missed appointments, and improve patient and staff experience. Florence offered an integrated, multi‑component digital patient journey solution that would need to be tested within a real‑world public outpatient setting.

Working in close collaboration with the USyd, SLHD and industry partner Five Faces, the project implemented Florence within a public dental outpatient service in Sydney Local Health District and assessed its clinical, operational and economic impacts across multiple phases.

Project Objective

The project set out to evaluate and optimise the implementation of Florence and was designed to examine how Florence affected patient and staff experience, clinic workflows and broader service delivery, using a robust mixed‑methods evaluation framework applied across pre‑ and post‑implementation phases.

The project aimed to generate practical guidance for effective implementation and sustained uptake of scalable digital patient journey solutions.

Publications

Refereed Journal ArticlePublished 18th November 2025Facilitators and Barriers to Implementing a Patient Portal at a Dental Hospital From the Implementers’ Perspectives: Qualitative Study
Full Publication
Refereed Journal ArticlePublished 14th August 2025Toward Normalizing Inclusive Design by Uncovering Patient Experiences of a Web Portal in a Dental Hospital: Mixed Methods Study
Full Publication
Refereed Journal ArticlePublished 24th September 2024Evaluation and Optimisation of a Patient Portal Implementation: An Action Research Approach
Full Publication

Final Outcomes

Through action-research approaches, the project examined training, support and change‑management strategies needed for successful adoption by staff and patients, alongside assessing the economic implications of implementation, including costs and return on investment.

Its findings deliver comprehensive evidence and practical guidance for the implementation and optimisation of digital patient journey solutions in public health settings from lessons learned about impacts on patient and staff experience, service outcomes, and costs.

The project also developed predictive analytics to support data-driven decision-making, including forecasting patient no‑shows and cancellations, and informing clinic planning and efficiency improvements. This demonstrated how digital patient journey data can be used not only to improve patient engagement, but also to support proactive service management.

Impact and Benefits

Overall, the project delivered real‑world evidence to support informed decision‑making about the optimisation, adoption and potential future scaling of Florence and similar digital patient journey solutions. Through its strong partnership between academia, health services and the technology vendor partner it also demonstrated the value of collaborative research on improving digital health products and change management to successfully implement and influence uptake of new technologies in health settings.