Redefining Processes In Healthcare

        As healthcare begins to shift from a fee-for service based model to a fee-for value based one, an area of concern that has steadily been increasing in importance is that patient-care, specifically the type of service and attention that patients receive when they visit a doctor's office or a hospital. Today every aspect of a patient's visit from check in to check out is being studied. More and more data is being compiled to achieve better direct labor utilization. Recently, I had the opportunity to asses data regarding patient experience in a doctor's office, I noticed that the physician as well as the Medical Assistant had to leave the room regularly during the course of the exam. Whether it was to retrieve paper-work or equipment of for some other reason. There was a significant loss in labor utilization as a result of some of the procedures. All this unnecessary and sometimes redundant mistakes created bottlenecks within the system that was costing the office money. It is interesting and exciting that hospital systems are embracing more and more "lean" approaches to only improve service and eliminate waste within the system but are actually improving overall quality of health during hospital stays. As I read the article on efficiency with the Seattle Children hospital, I began to wonder how else could hospital and office visit be improved. With the advancements in technology, it is easier more than ever for hospitals to compile and gather data on their patients. Some have been utilizing the data to improve healthcare outcome, but as the children's hospital has shown direct care is not the only factor that improves healthcare outcome. But eliminating redundancies and improving communication within the system, staff and patient alike can have a better outcome. With this new fee-for value based model, I wonder will hospitals now begin to reexamine some of the traditional procedures? The amount of data being collected is immense, it would be a shame if it is not utilized properly.