Repositioning for success under a new healthcare paradigm requires a strategic approach that includes operational, clinical and facility considerations.
The following is excerpted from CannonDesign's Strategic Insights Series: "Proactive Operational Planning for Successful Ambulatory Care Delivery."
Healthcare delivery is rapidly shifting to the ambulatory setting prompting many organizations that have historically depended on inpatient revenues to adapt their care models for a new healthcare paradigm
Repositioning for success under a new healthcare paradigm requires a strategic approach that includes operational, clinical and facility considerations. It requires a thorough assessment of an organization's current state and identification of the key steps that need to be taken to adjust to the new environment.
Proactive operational planning
To strategically and operationally align with this evolution, successful organizations will be vigilant in assessing their current state and proactively evolving processes to integrate innovation.
There are many tools related to continuous improvement; however, the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle provides a methodology most tools follow. Below is an overview of each stage.
1. Plan
- Identify parameters for improvement (e.g., efficiency, quality, experience)
- Assess the current state and identify areas for improvement
- Identify key impacting factors and how they are influenced
- Ascertain measurable outcomes and establish goals
- Select improvement approach (e.g., LEAN, Six Sigma)
2. Do
- Implement change and collect data for Check and Act
- Apply change methodologies
- Value process mapping
- Data analysis
- Collaborative visioning and design sessions
- Technology implementation
- Measure progress against key milestone
3. Check
- Throughout the process, evaluate outputs with expected results
- Evaluate root cause of any deviations
- Identify deviations from developed plan and quantify positive or negative impact
- Iteratively evaluate the ability of the Plan to meet expected outcomes
4. Act
- Identify and execute corrective actions on significant differences between actual and planned results
- Explore opportunities to refine executed plan to enhance outcomes
- Reevaluate initial goals and adjust to any environment changes
To view a more detailed discussion of each stage of PDCA and download the full Strategic Insights report, click here.