Generally, healthcare administrators strive to reduce inefficiencies in effort to run a tighter, more fiscally responsible facility. When making changes, however, administrators do not fully comprehend one fundamental element of a healthcare system: all areas and departments are interconnected. When a change is executed in one area, often times another area of the facility or system foots the expenses. In the end there is no increase in revenue.
Unfortunately, because each healthcare system is unique, there is not cookie cutter, seven-steps-to-victory way of solving the healthcare dilemma. Boiling it down, employing a methodology that is proven to evolve and solve unique problems is the key. The methodology should revolve around:
- Gaining a clear understand the fundamental problem areas and how they relate to one another as a whole and not individually
- Eliminating variations in the way things are done and change resistance, by including staff, from entry-level nurses to administrative leadership, in the change process
- Reducing wasted time, steps and materials at all levels and in all areas of a healthcare system
While healthcare administration, the government and the general public are aware significant changes within the healthcare industry need to come into fruition, it is slow coming due to various mental and physical barriers. A few U.S. hospitals have attained a grasp on the solution by implementing waste-reduction practices to provide tangible results.
- Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, Mi., has avoided the need to spend about $1.4 million dollars in 2007 and 2008.
- Bronson was also able to eliminate its 30-minute waiting guarantee in the emergency department and now offers a no-wait guarantee.
- By reducing patient transfers from room to room, the Heart Center at Akron Children’s Hospital in Ohio reduced the average stay of each patient’s visit from 107 minutes to 75 minutes. The Center is now able to see two more patients per week.
The issue of productivity improvement within hospital operations is one that deserves more attention. By streamlining processes it is clear that costs can be reduced from department to department positively impacting the overall health of the bottom line.
