Case Study: University of Tennessee Medical Center achieves 76.3% faster communication initiation with PerfectServe

EMR Embedded Communication Improves Efficiency

The University of Tennessee Medical Center (UTMC), East Tennessee’s only academic medical center and a Level I trauma center, faced persistent clinician frustration, productivity losses, and care delays due to inefficient communication workflows. UTMC originally adopted PerfectServe’s Clinical Collaboration solution across hospital and ambulatory sites and in 2020 moved to embed that solution directly in their EMR (Cerner) to further streamline communications, improve clinician satisfaction, and accelerate patient care—needs made more urgent by the COVID-19 pandemic.

PerfectServe embedded its Clinical Collaboration messaging into UTMC’s Cerner EMR, supported by superuser training and on‑site go‑live support, and UTMC measured the impact across nursing and hospitalist groups. The integration cut time to initiate messages by 76.3% (from 97 to 23 seconds, ~74 seconds saved per message), reclaimed ~410 staff hours per month, and yielded about $117,675 in annual time savings; provider satisfaction rose 12% and nurse satisfaction rose 28%, with 73.3% adoption at six months and a 21% year‑over‑year increase in PerfectServe communications.

University of Tennessee Medical Center

Clay Callison

Chief Medical Information Officer