Rebuilding the Long Stay Tracker: How Interfuze Helped East Metro Health Services Improve Patient Flow

Hospitals across Australia face an ongoing challenge—patients who are medically cleared for discharge but remain in hospital because they have nowhere to go or lack the necessary support. These extended stays can strain resources, increase costs, and reduce the availability of beds for incoming patients.

To address this issue, East Metro Health Services (EMHS) developed the Long Stay Tracker, a Power Apps solution designed to improve visibility of patients ready for discharge and help staff take action sooner. As the app gained traction, usage grew rapidly—but so did performance issues.

That’s when EMHS’s Data & Digital Innovation (DDI) team partnered with Interfuze, a Microsoft solutions and Power Platform consultancy, to rebuild and modernise the application.

The Challenge

The Long Stay Tracker was originally built by a citizen developer to track patients identified as medically cleared for discharge. Over time, as more departments began using the app and the original developer moved on, the solution started to degrade. Load times slowed, data became unreliable, and maintenance became difficult.

The challenge for Interfuze was to rebuild the app’s failing components while maintaining its existing look and feel—ensuring staff could continue to use it without disruption.

The Solution

Working closely with the EMHS DDI team, Interfuze rebuilt the Long Stay Tracker following Microsoft best practices to ensure stability, scalability, and performance.

Key improvements included:

• Optimised data performance: All data queries were made fully delegable and targeted SQL views.
• Structured data handling: A full set of SQL stored procedures was created to manage Create, Update, and Delete operations.
• Component-based design: Key app elements were converted into reusable Power App components, reducing maintenance overhead and improving consistency.
• Minimal UI changes: The familiar user experience was preserved while enhancing backend efficiency.

These changes ensured the app could handle increasing data volumes and user activity—without compromising accuracy or speed.

The Results

The modernised Long Stay Tracker now delivers accurate, reliable, and fast data, giving staff the information they need to act quickly on discharge planning. Load speeds have doubled, and users report a smoother, more intuitive experience.

Perhaps most importantly, the app now provides a strong foundation for further digital innovation. The EMHS DDI team is developing a Power BI dashboard that will analyse data from the Long Stay Tracker to identify trends in patient discharge times and support ongoing improvements to hospital flow and resource management.

You can watch a short video of our work with EMHS here.

The Impact

This project highlights how collaboration between clinical and digital teams—supported by experienced technology consultants—can deliver real, measurable outcomes in healthcare.

By combining low-code Power Apps development with enterprise-grade engineering principles, Interfuze helped EMHS create a sustainable solution that supports staff efficiency, data accuracy, and patient care.

At Interfuze, we’re proud to partner with organisations like East Metro Health Services to deliver technology that works in the real world—making operations more efficient, scalable, and impactful.

Interested in learning how Interfuze can help your healthcare organisation modernise its digital tools?

Contact us to discuss Power Platform solutions that improve performance, data visibility, and patient outcomes.