Operational Implications of Process Improvement

Final Project: Operational Implications of Process Improvement

During this class, we examined a range of methods used in operations management to monitor, assess, and improve performance in health care organizations. In this final Assignment, you will review the Learning Resources made available throughout the class, and any additional external resources you may find. Then, you will synthesize your understanding of these resources, applying your knowledge to the Pediatric Hospital case study.

According to the case study, a kaizen event revealed that variability in operations performance and outcomes was the root cause of a bottleneck in scheduling MRIs. Three solutions were provided, including:

· Modify the master schedule.

· Streamline the insurance authorization process.

· Implement standardized work instructions.

To prepare for this Assignment:

Read the Pediatric Hospital in Tough Market Pegs Growth to Lean Process Improvement case study by Tonya Vinas, located in the Learning Resources. Review the key metrics and current state of the organization before the interventions were conducted.

The Assignment:

In a 6- to 7-page report to the board of directors (not including title page or references):

1. Assess operations requirements and resources for Pediatric Hospital. Describe what is working and what is not working.

2. Conduct a quantitative and qualitative benchmark literature review and scan of operations best practices (from the health care industry or outside the health care industry) and provide and evaluate an example of an initiative that a high-reliability health care organization has implemented, and indicate how Pediatric Hospital can implement that initiative.

3. Evaluate Pediatric Hospital’s readiness for the transition of health care systems from a volume- to value-based delivery system. Using data provided in this case, provide relevant and practical recommendations to improve its readiness and how it might affect the implementation of the initiative.

4. Analyze the operational implications of 2–3 current health care reforms and mandates that might affect the implementation of the initiative.

5. Consider current and future trends and forces in operations management excellence and assess how these can help this Pediatric Hospital and other similar health care organizations to become a sustainable model for high-reliability organization.

Resources:

Call Center Performance Improvements

After reading the feedback from my cohorts on week four, the performance improvement is essential in every organizational setting since it helps the enterprise to adjust with the various emerging trends and issues. A business should create a performance improvement culture in all its departments for instance, in its marketing, call center, production and the supervisory levels (Peng & Prybutok, 2015). When a company embraces such an improvement culture, it improves on its overall performance, its value and public image.

Serco performance improvement is one of the major key areas of development that every enterprise should focus at. Since, the Serco is more like the representation of an operation apart from its management and the brands (Lee & Ooi, 2015) to improve the performance at a call center, it is relevant that every enterprise should focus on the feedback received from the customers and address the issues without offending the customers. Secondly, performance improvement can made possible at the call center of an enterprise through performance appraisal activities. By conducting performance evaluations, often the management can identify the key areas that require improvement. Besides, when the Serco employees regularly appraised, they are on their toes and would do their best not to be on the wrong side of the appraisal feedback by the management (Dupree, Niemeyer & McHugh, 2014).

References

Dupree, J. M., Niemeyer, J., & McHugh, M. (2014). An advanced look at surgical performance under Medicare’s hospital-inpatient value-based purchasing program: Who is winning and who is losing? Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 218(1), 1–7.

Lee, V.-H., & Ooi, K.-B. (2015). Applying the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria: An approach to strengthen organizational memory and process innovation. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 26(11/12), 1373–1386.

Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Peng, X., & Prybutok, V. (2015). Relative effectiveness of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award categories. International Journal of Production Research, 53(2), 629–647.