Manual referrals could not keep pace with growing volume of patients
Queensland Health manages one of Australia’s largest public health systems, comprising 16 Health and Hospital Services (HHSs) and delivering close to 6 million different health services per year.
Established in 2008, the Surgery Connect program allows clinically suitable public hospital patients to have surgery at private hospitals, which helps to address growing demand on public hospitals across the state.
As patient acceptance increased, it became clear that the end-to-end referral process, including collaboration between HHS partners and private providers, could take several days. When an HHS identified a patient eligible for Surgery Connect, staff manually scanned patient information, created PDFs, and stored records in hospital archives. They also sent paper copies of referrals to private providers, discussed each case over the phone, and collected invoices manually for every patient encounter.
Operating with fewer than 10 people, the Surgery Connect team built the Surgery Connect Activity Navigator (SCAN) application using ServiceNow App Engine to improve visibility and efficiency. But as the program scaled to complete over 30,000 procedures in 2024 alone, the infrastructure required further improvement. Surgery Connect engaged with ServiceNow Partner AC3 to modernize SCAN and eliminate the referral bottleneck.
“The original SCAN was built with limited knowledge of what the capability could be,” explains Kaleigh Leggett, Surgery Connect senior director. “As volume increased, we wanted to ensure workflow efficiency for private providers and Queensland Health end users to support a seamless patient journey.”
550% increase in patient referrals accepted monthly
By integrating SCAN with the government’s data warehouse containing waitlists and patient information, HHS staff can now create referrals and upload patient documents directly into the application. Private providers receive email notifications to review information immediately.
Because SCAN stores and archives all patient documents, private providers can quickly access data and confirm clinical suitability and workforce availability, thereby speeding up the acceptance process. SCAN also enables postoperative documentation to flow back to HHS, closing out episodes of care. Private providers submit invoices via the system, which are then validated before payment.
“Using SCAN to automate the end-to-end referral process, there is no waiting and no need for phone calls,” says Charlyn Stewart, principal systems analyst. “This helps move patients through their journey faster and reduces wait times for patients.”
The efficiency gains are significant: Surgery Connect now processes 550% more patient referrals monthly than manual processes. In 2025, the program processed 30,000 referrals, accepting 12,300 patient referrals from February to June alone, compared to just 4,600 patients in all of 2008.
“We can now handle the required volume of referral activities, which we couldn’t before,” Kaleigh says. “With data easily accessible in SCAN, we understand where bottlenecks are so the team can work smarter to ensure patients are moving through their Surgery Connect journey.”
Visibility that earned AUD200M in new funding
The benefits weren’t only about processing more referrals—the modernized SCAN also gave Surgery Connect something it never had before: proof of performance.
With paper-based referrals, there was limited capability for Queensland Health to track and report on investment with confidence. ServiceNow’s built-in dashboards now provide a complete view of referral status at any time. Private providers receive alerts when patients are close to breaching contracted timeframes, with escalation processes to ensure that patients continue moving through the program. This performance tracking enables transparent, data-driven reporting to be shared with Queensland Health.
“Deliverables have been the key for our funding injection,” Kaleigh explains. “The improved visibility gives confidence to Queensland Health that we are spending public funds as intended, to get patients treated. As a result, funding for Surgery Connect increased to AUD260 million in 2025, up from AUD8.5 million at its inception.”
63% more invoices processed with predictive pricing intelligence
Building on SCAN’s proven foundation, Surgery Connect worked with AC3 to add two strategic enhancements that would unlock even greater efficiency: Predictive Pricing and Exceptions Register.
Predictive Pricing automatically integrates real-time pricing data into SCAN, eliminating manual references to complex contractual documents.
“Before 2023, it could take 30 minutes to locate payment rates per procedure,” Charlyn says. “We have now reduced identification time to zero, helping us process 63% more invoices from May to October 2025 compared to the entire previous year.”
This time saving freed the Surgery Connect team to focus on supporting other administrative efficiencies and patient enquiries. Improved visibility of data mismatches also ensures that private providers are paid properly and on time.
The Exceptions Register has transformed referral exceptions from reactive troubleshooting into proactive, automated identification, allowing the team to flag potential issues early and accelerate decision-making. The project won the ARN Innovation Awards 2025 for its measurable impact on patient access and operational efficiency.
“Everybody loves SCAN,” Kaleigh says. “We simply would not be able to deliver the Surgery Connect program to its current level of success without it.”
Charlyn also credits AC3’s collaborative approach with making the enhancements possible: “There are no barriers working with AC3,” she notes. “Everyone feels confident sharing ideas and steering the ship along the right path.”
How technology and collaboration transformed the patient experience
Today, 499 users actively access SCAN: 225 private providers, 238 HHS partners, and 41 Surgery Connect staff.
“The most successful outcome is our collaboration with HHSs and private providers,” Charlyn says. “Everyone understands their role and supports each other to ensure patients receive necessary care while maintaining safety and privacy.”
Looking ahead, Surgery Connect will refine SCAN’s dashboards and patient workflows. The team is also exploring how ServiceNow AI Agents can accelerate referral decisions for routine scenarios, letting staff focus on complex cases that require more considered human judgment.
“The proudest thing I can say about Surgery Connect is that everybody has patients at the forefront of their mind,” Kaleigh concludes. “We have a great system with embedded workflows to support the patients’ journeys, but the winner here is the patient. Ultimately, the program facilitates their progression from sitting on the public waitlist to much-needed treatment. That is the fundamental driving force for me.”