Healthcare
Managing Data in Healthcare
Most hospitals face similar challenges as they upgrade their paper-based record systems to electronic medical records (EMRs), and those challenges tend to center around managing change within the organization as the ways and means that information is recorded evolves. Hospitals move very fast, and those that get used to the hectic pace of things aren’t very fond of change as it has the potential to initially create chaos, even if there is a promise of increased simplicity, usability, and accuracy.
Within the Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management section of the Baldrige criteria, applicants are asked how they make needed data and information available to the workforce, suppliers, partners, collaborators, and customers, as appropriate. To address the reluctance that many healthcare organizations have over switching to an electronic system, some EMR vendors have resorted to very interesting tactics in order to woo these potential customers.
Athenahealth is a very popular EMR and data management platform used by hospitals, which has recently made the news for the purchase of Epocrates, a startup whose mobile application provides drug reference advice to healthcare providers. Epocrates pioneered the development of what has been widely recognized as the most popular point-of-care medical application among U.S. physicians, providing vast swaths of data regarding pharmaceutical usage and …
24Jan2013 | Joseph A. De Feo | 0 comments | Continued
North Mississippi Health Services receives Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
Perhaps best known as the birthplace of Elvis Presley, Tupelo, Mississippi is situated in the northeast corner of the state, about halfway between Memphis, Tennessee, and Birmingham, Alabama. However, there is something else in Tupelo that helping to keep up appearances these days, and that’s North Mississippi Health Services (NMHS). NMHS is a 650-bed referral center that holds the distinction of being the largest, private, not-for-profit hospital in Mississippi, and the largest non-metropolitan hospital in America. The center helps more than 700,000 people in 24 area counties.
Back in 2006, North Mississippi Medical Center received the Award as the flagship hospital of the NMHS system, which consists of five additional facilities. NMHS has not been slacking since then, and has been awarded yet another Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for their outstanding work in 2012.
An exceptionally strong focus on high standards results in better health outcomes. At North Mississippi Health Services, patient safety has led to zero central line-associated blood stream infections in its intensive care unit for two years. Slips, trips, and falls are below the National Database for Nursing Quality Indicators mean for both inpatient and long-term care settings across the system in fiscal year 2012. One facet of NMHS’ initiative is the “Ideas for Excellence” program, …
3Dec2012 | Joseph A. De Feo | 0 comments | ContinuedSimulated Design of Experiments to Solve Difficult Problems
Hospitals seeking to improve health care delivery often face the challenge of implementing process changes without benefit of tests of change that could clearly demonstrate success and identify potential risks. In particular, the disruption of already strained processes can severely affect patient quality of care and safety, thereby constraining the ability to test proposed improvements. For one faced with the uncertainty of success, risk aversion can limit the range of change considered and derail otherwise successful quality improvement efforts.
Alleviating this problem, simulation and design of experiments (DOE) provide a powerful approach to quality management and process improvement in hospitals. DOE is a stepwise, statistically based method that efficiently guides the identification and selection of changes that collectively will optimize performance. Typically, this involves iterative testing of different factors, settings, and configurations, using the results of successive tests to further refine the product or process. When properly done, a DOE approach produces more precise results while using many fewer experimental runs than other methods (e.g., one factor at a time, or trial and error). The outcome is a robust design that better meets customer specifications and production and delivery constraints. A more detailed overview of DOE is provided in Chapter 19, Accurate and Reliable Measurement Systems and Advanced Tools.
A …
6Aug2012 | Joseph A. De Feo | 0 comments | ContinuedHenry Ford Health System’s Baldrige Journey
“Use the Baldrige process to drive integration and improvement across the organization.” That’s the objective that the CEO of Henry Ford Health Systems has in mind. On Friday, I had the pleasure of attending the Connecticut Quality Symposium, presented by the CT Center for Advanced Technology. Ms. Lucy Young, Director of Performance Excellence & System Initiatives at HFHS was the keynote, and she reflected on the strategic choices that the hospital made to become a better place. Back in 2007 when HFHS initially applied for Baldrige, they not intend to win, but rather utilize the criteria as a framework for performance excellence. However, that same year, they also applied for the Michigan Quality Leadership Award and did win. This unexpected accomplishment spurred their Baldrige ambitions, and guided them through the next (rather challenging) few years.
HFHS’s development of their vision statement alone was substantial, as the CEO and leadership teams had decided that the significance of this statement was huge and could make or break their future in Detroit. “Transforming lives and communities through health and wellness – one person at a time,” encapsulates the entire message the HFHS team was trying to get across. Each patient comes first, and the customer is always priority #1. Starting their Baldrige …
25Jun2012 | Tom Huizenga | 0 comments | ContinuedAcknowledging Innovative Excellence – Henry Ford Health System
Workforce performance is critical for 2011 Baldrige Award recipient, Henry Ford Health System. Encompassed by their professional work ethics, they do a superb job of answering the Baldrige Criteria question in section 5.2, “How does your workforce performance management system support high-performance work and workforce engagement?” Henry Ford Health System’s work improves daily with technology advancing throughout the healthcare industry. Doctors use this new technology to treat diseases like prostate cancer more efficiently. Studies are then practiced to show how effective these new innovations can be.
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in U.S. men. Robot assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) is a new procedure that has been pioneered by the Henry Ford Health System in order to minimize the risks associated with what was typically such an invasive surgery. HFHS executed the first ever RARP and was globally recognized for their achievement. With the robots’ help, doctors can now make tiny incisions using minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery. Before this, doctors were making long incisions into the lower abdomen to remove the prostate gland utilizing a procedure called open radical prostatectomy (ORP).
HFHS scientists performed a nationwide population sample in which RARP’s success rates were compared to traditional prostate removal surgical methodologies. 19,278 patients were tested …
18May2012 | Tom Huizenga | 0 comments | ContinuedAcknowledging Innovative Excellence – Premier, Inc.
Complexity is a fact of organizational life. To succeed in today’s global, competitive, uncertain environment, organizations must accept complexity. The Baldrige Criteria are complex because attaining organizational sustainability in a global economy is not simple.
Premier, Inc. is a healthcare strategic alliance entirely owned by not-for-profit hospitals and health system organizations that operate both hospitals and other kinds of care services. Premier is the second largest of the few nationwide alliances serving not-for-profits. In 2011, they saved $4.2+ billion by improving processes and efficiencies in their care delivery system, which is the equivalent to the average annual salary of 70,015 nurse practitioners.
Premier has no problem answering the Baldrige Criteria questions in section 1.2, ‘How does your organization promote and ensure ethical behavior in all interactions?’ and, ‘How do you contribute to the well-being of your environmental, social, and economic systems?’ Premier operates its corporate headquarters in a LEED certified building; and last year it recycled nearly 150,000 pounds of paper on top of two tons of computers and electronic equipment. The organization also advocates on behalf of its members for healthcare policies that address safe and less toxic practices, including the need for Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) labeling of products and more oversight of industrial chemicals with increased …
15May2012 | Tom Huizenga | 1 comment | ContinuedAt Sharp HealthCare, This Bud’s For You
In 2007, Sharp HealthCare of San Diego County was a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient. Operations and activities of the entire hospital group are aligned under Sharp’s Six Pillars of Excellence – Quality, Service, People, Finance, Growth, and Community. Engineering Operations Manager of the Sharp Grossmont Hospital, Andy Grossman, was recently tasked with the responsibility of making sure everybody from the custodial staff to the transplant surgeons are making Sharp patients feel more welcome, engaged, and at ease; to generally increase customer focus. It should come as no surprise to readers that a Baldrige Award winning hospital would employ a particularly unassuming idea into a brilliant one.
Sharp Grossmont Hospital is surrounded by more than 300 rose bushes, meticulously maintained by a team of five landscaping crewmen. These men typically spent the vast majority of their days outside, and really only knew how to get to the restrooms and the cafeteria inside the hospital. On a random occasion, Grossman had seen the men cut and hand out single roses to patients, visitors, and employees who happened to be strolling through the grounds. He noticed the smiling faces and recognized instantly that this small act could be the key to bringing the whole Sharp staff together.
A program entitled “This …
1Mar2012 | Joseph A. De Feo | 0 comments | Continued
