Many health-care systems process a large number of patients through a series of integrated clinical and financial processes. If done well, the process is efficient and patient satisfaction is high. However, a poorly designed patient flow can lead to bottlenecks, delays and patient and staff dissatisfaction. As the industry learns more about managing clinical process flow, hospitals and high-volume practices around the country are adopting better strategies for improved patient flow and cycle time.
Rapid-Cycle Performance Improvement
You cannot improve flow and cycle time without first diagnosing the full range of opportunities. Engage a consultant or internal specialist who is well-versed in process quality. A process engineer or quality specialist will use tools and approaches like the Toyota Production System, process mapping, the DMAIC/PDCA project-management methodology and related tools to map all inefficient processes and to facilitate the brainstorming of process-improvement projects.
Clinical-Financial Alignment
One area where patient flow breaks down is when two different disciplines have to run processes in parallel. For example, in many emergency rooms, the clinical staff have a triage, treatment and admission-assessment protocol that follows a very tight script. However, the registration and financial-counseling teams have their own processes to manage to ensure proper demographic and insurance data collection. A process that aligns clinical and financial needs into a single harmonious flow can reduce unnecessary delays and keep patients flowing smoothly.
Manage with Data
Many veteran leaders stick with what they know. Although these perceptions are often valuable, the industry is changing at a rapid clip, so relying on anecdotes to improve performance is not helpful. Instead, engage in a robust data-collection effort, involving a multidisciplinary team to assess the relevant revenue-cycle, throughput and clinical-outcomes metrics. Bringing in an experienced data miner often helps identify low-hanging fruit or previously unseen correlations that could be a quick and easy fix that immediately boosts performance.
Remove Barriers and Handoffs
Barriers and handoff are the twin banes of any health care enterprise. Communication protocols for moving patients from department to department along the continuum of care are essential. It does no good, for example, for the emergency room to have benchmark performance on throughput only to keep patients for six hours in a holding bed until they can be admitted. Likewise, explore barriers that are presented by patients and families, including a comprehensive strategy for reducing avoidable financial and psychosocial delays like a lack of transportation or delays in prescription processing. The case-management team can play a strong role in this process.
Tags: patient flow, clinical financial, cycle time, flow cycle, flow cycle time
