Successful process improvement projects move through four stages: identifying the problem, researching a solution, changing the way people work and maintaining the change, according to an article on the FacilityCare website.
The first phase is finding out what is not working, according to the article. Somewhere in every healthcare organization, inefficiencies and poorly conceived processes are raising costs and hampering patient outcomes.
So if the process is the problem, how do you determine why it is not happening and how to fix it? To address a work culture issue, it is best to talk with the most senior people. They know that nothing is gained from hiding or ignoring a problem, the article said.
The second phase involves researching a solution. Given adequate data and value stream maps, it is possible to create a computer simulation of the existing processes and to develop alternatives with the goals of speeding the process and improving the quality of treatment, the article said.
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