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- BHA FPX 4110 Assessment 1
Vila Health: Patient Flow
Patient flow implies the process through which a patient goes through in the course of receiving treatment in a healthcare facility. Scheduling of appointments, registration, admissions, transfers, tests, treatment, and discharging are some of the care which may be offered to patients (Nguyen et al. , 2022).
Oftentimes, healthcare facilities aim at increasing productivity, the quality of patient stays, and reducing the time that a patient spends in a particular area or organization. Solutions ranging from electronic health records (EHRs) to scheduling systems and other elements that enhance processes and help distribute resources while removing inefficiencies are also part of it (Tavakoli et al. , 2022).
This analysis will also explain why CEOs choose to address declining patient satisfaction as a performance enhancing strategy and what makes patients’ satisfaction crucial for the healthcare sector.
Furthermore, it will develop a fishbone diagram to demonstrate the problem which is under review and will explain how useful is fishbone diagram graphically. The organization’s objectives of the performance improvement team as well as an overview of lean approaches will be presented in the assessment. Thus, it is time to shed more light on the DMAIC paradigm, which is defined as a cycle for improvement based on data.
Patient Satisfaction: Essential Component of Healthcare Industry
Since the general quality of the service is in question, happiness of the patient is an essential concern in the healthcare domain. Outcomes of the treatment, patients’ loyalty, and the rates of observed medical malpractice influence are also severe. They move faster, get effective, and generally deliver patient care in health care institutions in a highly efficient manner.
Such outcome indicates that patients who get a treatment they are satisfied with are the ones that healthcare providers set out to bring about change for. Doctors and healthcare facilities may benefit from monitoring the levels of satisfaction of their patients, as this way, they could discover quite a lot concerning their patients’ experiences with treatment and the level of quality of care they receive in general (Shirazi et al. , 2020).
As for useful information that is available in Vila Health, a series of surveys were done to determine patients’ satisfaction. However, there is much that can be done to improve the services Vila Health has acknowledged some gains in the services they offer. The study further showed that patients were fairly satisfied with the care that they received, this being at 90%. Another highlighted variable is that 90% of the patients who sought treatment were very satisfied, implying that Vila Health provides excellent services.
This puts the healthcare provider in a massive advantage compared to the competition within the market. With such marks proving to have an astonishingly high rate of 85% patient satisfaction, Vila Health can boast about achieving the goal of offering clients a top-notch health care facility. It incorporates many areas, aspects, objects, and even products such as mattresses, hall and waiting area, as well as the quality of the foods served. Therefore, Vila Health ensures that patients pass through the experience wanting to return for every other need that they may have relating to their health. Two reasons for that are as follows:
Patient satisfaction is important in healthcare for several reasons.
- It is noteworthy that achieving a population-wide recognition, which entails a good reputation and an increase in numbers of patients, may be obtained through people’s satisfaction in order to recommend it.
- Increased satisfaction patient rates mean that patients will patronize the service provider again in the future hence leads to increased patient retention rate.
- Concerning the assessment of the quality of treatment, the level of satisfaction of the patient is considered too (Uzir et al. , 2021).
In their studies conducted in 2021, Uzir et al. pointed out that healthcare firms can improve their Development strategies and care models with patient satisfaction as a core strategic focus.
BHA FPX 4110 Assessment 1 Vila Health: Patient Flow
Such structures may indicate how the flow of patients is done at Vila Health and this will show the management’s effectiveness in ensuring that the firm is efficient and competitive. Some resulted benefits include; higher operating efficiency, shorter waits, better client experience, and potential for attracting more clients than the trade competitors through faster patient flow as opposed to the rivals with lesser efficient patient flow means in the healthcare organization. Vila Health Patient Flow illustrates the goals and objectives of the company, which could encompass:Vila Health Patient Flow illustrates the goals and objectives of the company, which could encompass:
Patient flows also include appointment scheduling, check-in, triage, diagnostics, treatment, and discharge which the organization could try to enhance (Montazeri et al. , 2020). Åhlin et al. (2023) indicated that there is a need to constantly manage the resources such as human resources, equipment, and floor space in a way that will enhance a smooth traffic pattern of patients while passing through different points within the company.
Computerised tools such as EHRs, patient monitoring systems, communication aids or applications, real-time data analysis, and other high-level technology may be procured by the organisation to improve the patient flow (Cerchione et al. , 2022).
Thus, the strategy of this company is patient satisfaction as this is what they aim to promote in order to attract more customers. By focusing on the satisfaction of the customers, which in this case are patients, the firm seeks to deliver quality service from across the chain till the end point which is the recovery of the patient.
When the patient is satisfied with the service received, the patient will be more involved in his or her health care and adhere to the recommended treatments, thus enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of care. Furthermore, Sunder M et al. (2019) in their study pointed out that; A healthcare organisation’s capacity to guarantee patient satisfaction leads to customers and a sale indicative of a way to attract more clientele than any other competing firm.
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Consequences of Not Succeeding in Patient Satisfaction
Higher level of patient volume and more revenues may be realized if patients who are satisfied with services rendered recommend the organization. Losing patients, loss of reputation, legal consequences, dissatisfaction in the employees, lack of growth and establishing market share and last but not the least unfavorable financial consequences are the indicators of missing Patient Satisfaction. Bin Traiki et al. (2020) have stated clearly that the healthcare companies need to focus on the aspect of patient satisfaction if they aim at maintaining the goodwill of the company, retaining the patients and achieving sustainable success.
Performance Improvement Initiative
Promisingly, patient satisfaction, which has dropped in recent years, could be of leaders’ performance improvement focus since it is significantly affecting the organizations’ effectiveness and quality of treatment. The primary targets associated with enhanced patients’ satisfaction are likely to retain patients, attract new customers, and keep good word-of-mouth (Kaplan et al. , 2021).
On the aspect of patient satisfaction, leaders should be worried when it decreases. This is pretty lethal as the patient satisfaction is progressively declining, and if nothing is done, they may shift to other hospitals for the treatment. Patients’ switching behavior occurs when patients are dissatisfied with HC professionals; as a result, the patient retention rates are influenced. Attrition affects the revenues of health care facilities, interruptions in the treament process, and changes to the doctor-patient relationship which is what Sommer and Blumenthal (2019) explored.
Most; internet and social media platforms offer the patients an opportunity to sort out or speak out their complaints. The general image of healthcare facilities might suffer a blow when negative recommendations and ratings get spread around at the speed of light. Sommer and Blumenthal (2019) stated that this not only affects the specific organization’s reputation but also discourages patients from continuing therapy. If medical misdeeds or lack of attention is the cause of patient’s dissatisfaction, it can lead to legal consequences.
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Legal action can follow patient complaints, litigation, or mediation requests and, consequently, force certain financial obligations, damage to one’s image, and increased scrutiny from the regulators (Lewis, 2020). Not paying attention to patient satisfaction can reduce people’s commitment to their treatment and thus have a detrimental impact on their well-being. Patients who are dissatisfied with the services offered to them may end up delaying their care, worsening their condition or even use more of healthcare services than they should (Sommer & Blumenthal, 2019).
Thus, recognizing the causes of the lack of Patient Satisfaction, it is possible to analyze the problem and work out its solution, as suggested by Godley and Jenkins (2019). Whenever, and wherever a company’s executives and other stakeholders convene in a systematic and organized manner, what they set in motion is a Performance Improvement Initiative. The idea behind this movement is to increase effectiveness in specific outcomes. Achieving planned levels of performance involves identifying deficiencies, setting goals and objectives, the introduction of strategies and the evaluation of outcomes.
If for instance patient satisfaction is on the decline; the kind of performance improvement initiative might look at ‘why?’ Implement a strategy ‘how?’ Set it in motion ‘what did you find?’ The activities for change can assume numerous forms, and these comprise of staff sensitization, synergistic change, and cultural change of the organizational structure as well as the acquisition of new technologies, change of policies and the institution of quality checking measures. There is evidence that shows that there is a relationship between the happiness of patients and their families’ health status (Iqbal & Ahmad, 2020).
The study done by Manzoor et al. (2019) focuses on identifying the degree of association between patient satisfaction, medical practitioners’ conduct, and the efficiency of healthcare services delivery. After the analysis, it was revealed that patient satisfaction, favourable to the healthcare service quality, has its conduct moderated by physicians. Citing Manzoor et al. , (2019), it is evident that patient satisfaction increases when doctors are positive and useful, whereas it decreases when they are negative and uncooperative.
Fishbone Diagram
If one wants to identify what could be causing a problem then he could use what is known as Fishbone Diagram. The root causes of the problem may thus be solved since identification of such would be easier. When attempting to reduce patient satisfaction yet, a fishbone diagram may reveal several causes that influence it (Xu & Dang, 2020).
The main problem or outcome that can be seen in this fishbone graphic is patients’ satisfaction. Possible reasons that have been likely to lead to low satisfaction levels have been established to be physician behavior and standard of health services. The former includes such aspects as their communication skills and the timeliness of the treatment they provide, while the latter can be represented by such aspects as the respect for the patients’ time and the effective organization of the necessary procedures.
Since the aim is to prevent The possible causes and their interactions are drawn using a fishbone diagram to show a clear depiction of possible causes and the outcome neatly. The picture shows all the factors that may influence patients’ satisfaction and presents a blueprint, so to speak, of how to address issues. It assists teams and leaders to identify precisely the right areas to intervene and to tailor the interventions required to address the problem in those areas.
As for the analysis of the factors that might influence them, the creation of discussions, ideas and formation of the priorities for the development stakeholders can use the fishbone diagram. It favours orderliness in undertaking a systematic approach to address issues and thus treatments and initiatives aimed at enhancing patient satisfaction that has lowered.
Therefore, in order to pinpoint the most relevant drivers for patient satisfaction, data analysis has to be performed, key stakeholders’ responses have to be included, and the factors have to be considered from various perspectives (Persis et al. , 2020). Such a strategy of working together is called a fishbone diagram construction.
Purpose of a Performance Improvement Team
The concept of a performance improvement team, therefore, looks for, assesses, and fixes issues and possibilities for boosting an organization’s performance. Typically, the main objective of the team is to improve the general performance, productivity, and quality of the business organization’s activities, structures or its provided goods and services.
Based on the investigation it has come to a conclusion that a performance improvement team has to be created with people, who will have the set of skills, different points of view and experience in different fields. Details such as the type of organisation and characteristics of the improvement program that is to be adopted will dictate which organisational roles and responsibilities are required (George et al. , 2019). Oversees activities towards improvements, schedules and ensures that the teams’ activities are following the set targets and objectives.
Experts of the studied field or process, that means individuals with the high levels of knowledge and certain set of skills (Turenne et al. , 2019). The role of their work is to identify deficiencies and tendencies within the performance indicators and informationflow on the basis of data collection and analysis. From the paper by Guo et al. (2020), the tools enable the team to evaluate the effectiveness of improvements they are implementing and make decisions based on evidence.
They can help the team in pointing out problems, eradicating non-value added activities and perfecting processes because of their understanding of tools of process improvement like Lean Six Sigma (Larson et al. , 2019). Company’s or organization’s employees as they are best positioned to analyze the process or the field and understand the presence of issues or potential improvement areas (Magner et al. , 2021). Confirms that improvement initiatives followed the laid down laws, regulations and standards set by the industry (Yabroff et al. , 2019).
Lean Methodology
Lean Methodology is a concept and a set of practices, the objectives of which are to increase value in regards to the systems and processes in organizations and organizations’ relations with customers, while minimizing waste. As a result of reducing or in some cases, even eradicating unnecessary activities and enhancing efficiency in the usage of resources, operations here attempt to offer value to the ultimate consumer.
Increasing efficiency and providing its executors with the means to address issues are its objectives. The concepts and techniques formulated on which lean operates permits the business to enhance its effectiveness and productivity (Akmal et al. , 2020).
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DMAIC Model
Many of the process improvement initiatives and those that use Six Sigma illustrate the DMAIC model, which is an improvement cycle. According to Thakur et al. (2022), the five stages of the DMAIC cycle are as follows: The main activities of the Six Sigma process model are as follows: Doing a Definition of the problem, Measuring the problem, Analyzing the root causes, Implementing Improvement, and finally Control.
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Specify:
It is expressed with a high degree of accuracy the issue or extent of the enhancement project. All the members of the team then discuss the limits and tasks of the work, requirements that have to be met and the expectations or the team.
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Measure:
As a way of formulating the standard performance, such facts are accumulated and quantified. In order to fully understand the aforementioned process and how exactly it runs at the moment, decision-makers define the key measures and indicators.
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Analyze:
Trends, patterns, and further performances are identified analyzing the data, as well as the root of the problem. In other words, it comprehending the data and or searching for the truth and fact typically entails application of statistical processes and tools.
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Enhance:
The outcomes of the data analysis procedures described above may present possible answers or potential for improving the existing situation. Whenever the team wants to find the best answer, the team debates the possible answers, sorts the options, and comes up with the answer. Then, these solutions are implemented and tested within a controlled, such as clinical, environment.
The final stage is called “control,” when the changes are further explained and reinforced and the viable methods of sustaining the process are introduced. The team brings out mechanisms to monitor the process and also adjusts them to accommodate the desired outcome as postulated by Thakur et al. (2022).
From the available data, it is possible to hypothesize that the issue might be caused by the absence of proper coordination of the patient flow through the healthcare network. For the elimination of this problem, gathering data is the key. The following are some possible measures that would have to be gathered either directly by the team or from available data:
• waiting times for the patients
• average length of stay
• frequency and reasons for inter-professional handoffs or transfers
• use of resources in the process of care
among other pertinent data. Based on the available data it would be so much easier to explain the current flow of patients and look for possibilities of enhancement. In order to analyze the problem properly and get to the core of the problem, much time is spent in reviewing the collected data. Some of the methods that might be needed to establish the root of the patient flow inefficiencies are process mapping, fishbone diagrams, and pareto charts. Challenges could be attributed to poor communication, lack of staff, lack of organization or schedule or any other hurdles.
Consequently, the team would recommend corrections concerning the problem based on the mentioned causes. The recommendations can be in form of investment in technology, enhanced communication and reorganization of work processes or adoption of other procedures. After the presentation of the specifics of the patient flow problem faced by Vila Health and the reasons for occurrence, the recommendations would be provided.
Inextricably linked to the suggestions’ effectiveness will be the leadership’s commitment and support, resources available, openness to change and their ability to maintain change in the long-term. The application of the suggestions will also depend on related factors such as the organizational culture of the company, stakeholders’ engagement, and the flow and procedures of implementing the suggestions and monitoring their effectiveness (Hastig & Sodhi, 2020).
Conclusion
The assessment helped distinguish between what leaders have identified as a performance improvement venture patient satisfaction in health facilities as a concept and its importance to the healthcare segment. To display the examined problem and its usefulness visually, it produced the fishbone diagram.
This record provided an evaluation that comprised the performance improvement team goals and an outline of lean techniques. The DMAIC model of continuous improvement based on data collection was expanded in it.
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BHA FPX 4110 Assessment 3 Leadership in the Dynamic Healthcare Industry
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