Healthcare Organization Process Improvement Report - Term Paper Example

Healthcare Organization Process Improvement Report U9a1 Capella Preferred but optional Preferred This paper deals with detailed balanced scorecard that can be used to improve the organizational outlook in terms of performance, management systems and strategic planning. Using different measures of performance, this paper examines the performance of different structures of the organizations with regard to its strategic plans in meeting its goals and objectives. It also identifies whether mission and vision of the organization are in tandem with the organizational strategy and systems of management. It identifies the weakness factors that may be visible within the organizational structure and the internal processes with a view to draft appropriate scorecard recommendations. Healthcare Organization Process Improvement Report Ontario Telemedicine Network Ontario Telemedicine Network is recognized as one of the major and largest telemedicine networks worldwide. Access to Medicare for hundreds of other health care locations and patients in the hospitals takes place through videoconferencing. Delivery of health care services, meetings, and education is greatly facilitated through the Ontario network for both professionals and patients (Tesson, 2009). The major aim of establishing a scorecard for this organization is to help it improve in the delivery of its services by realizing the weaknesses that exists within its structures and strategic plan. As a telemedicine organization, it is also necessary to examine its cost benefit effectiveness among other unnecessary interaction between patients and physicians; otherwise, such interactions that may be considered ineffective to be reduced. The internal process and systems is of great essence for establishing the weaknesses in the system that would require improvement. Process improvement in any health care organization is aimed at ensuring the efficiency of services offered. The telemedicine structure and system could be lagging behind in certain aspects of performances (Tesson, 2009). The use of a balanced scorecard targets a complete streamlining of the system in order to improve performance towards efficiency. Ontario Telemedicine Network has its services spread across the province, with almost 600 members. These include public hospitals, physician offices; Family Health Teams, medical and nursing schools, nursing stations, Community Care access Centers, professional organizations, LHIN offices, First Nations Communities, Public Health, clinics, educational facilities, and Long-term care homes. Mission To develop and support telemedicine solutions that enhances access and quality of health care in Ontario, and inspires adoption by health care providers, organizations, and the public. Vision Ontario Telemedicine Network’s vision is that telemedicine will be a mainstream channel for health care delivery and education. Organizational Structure: Senior Leadership The top leadership of Ontario Telemedicine includes the Chief Executive officer, who is also a member of many boards of health care organizations including the American Telemedicine Association and Ontario MD. The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for several of the management roles. There is also vice president of adoption and Strategic Partnership who is an influential player in the organization’s health care system. He creates, promotes and delivers health care products that are not only beneficial to the organization but also the society. He is also responsible for the coordination of some of the organizational Medicare activities such as screening tests of potential cancer patients. The vice president of Finance and Administration oversee the financial position and requirements of the organization alongside the organization’s administrative roles (Rocheleau, 2007). There is the vice-president of Strategy and Corporate Development who works closely with the senior leadership team and the Board of Directors of the Ontario Telemedicine Networks. The main role of this officer is to help in the setting and refreshing of the strategic plan of the organization, and submission of annual multi-year business plan to the ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the development of Ontario of provincial program plans. The Strategy and Corporate Development vice president helps the Decision Support Team of the Organization in order to put into action different strategic plans. The vice president of human Resource is responsible for the organization’s Human Resource and OD functions. The vice president of Ontario Telemedicine solutions is responsible for the Teleophthalmology programs and emergency services of the Ontario Telemedicine Network. He also oversees Telehomecare program implementation; expansion models on Ontario Telemedicine Network’s pilot in the first phase. The vice president of Ontario Telemedicine Network’s Emerging Business is responsible for innovative Telemedicine solutions (Kaplan and Norton, 1996). Additionally, he or she ensures tat everything that has been developed is taken into or from the market. The vice president of Technical Services and Chief Technology officer is tasked with the responsibility of developing products beginning from the end user devices to complete wireless systems. The Chief medical officer is responsible for the provision of advocacy and support for the organization’s medical interest and strategic organizational leadership. These are some of the senior leadership in the organizational structure of Ontario Telemedicine Network (Tesson, 2009). Ontario Telemedicine is governed by the Board of Directors, which represents all of the, provincial regions, education sectors, and continuing Care. Some of the board members include the president and Chief executive Officer of food and consumer product of Canada, Director of the Center for Movement Disorders CEO Toronto Central LHIN, chief of Staff, the Ottawa hospital, and president of Exigent Innovations Inc. and the MD, CEO of OTN, alongside other few members (Rocheleau, 2007). Ontario Telemedicine Network has more than 2200 endpoints, 1200sites and more than 3200 health care consultants and referrers. They are provided with networks that they use to give care to patients. The organization has several clinical therapeutic areas of care that it supports. Distant learning and teaching through videoconferencing is also enhanced by the organization apart from only the facilitation of health care delivery (Kaplan and Norton, 1996). Organization Strategy Any organization’s strategy depends on its strategic plans that maps several ways of achieving the organizational objectives. The mission and vision of an organization should be able to give a first sight organizational strategy. For instance, Ontario Telemedicine Network in its mission states its goal that highlights that it sis responsible to develop and support telemedicine solutions that enhances access and quality of health care in Ontario, and inspires adoption by health care providers, organizations, and the public. In its vision statement, the organization intends to make telemedicine a mainstream channel for health care delivery and education (Buzug et al., 2000). These two important organizational aspects provide direction through which an organization designs its strategic plan. There is therefore an administrative component or department that deals with strategic organization and plans for the health care facility. Therefore, its strategy is to create facilities and institutions that address the health concerns of the society. Operating as a non-profit making organization, OTN is interested more in accomplishing its goals of providing adequate and efficient medical services. In order to achieve this goal, the organization has expanded its facilities so that they spread through out the Ontario province (Tesson, 2009). The facilities have the capacity to help in the provision of sufficient and timely health care. It is therefore open to expansion and enhances its further development so that it makes accessibility of health care to more easily. The vice-president of Strategy and Corporate Development who works closely with the senior leadership team and the Board of Directors of the Ontario Telemedicine Networks is an important player of ensuring that the desire to undertake organizational expansion is appropriate and not ill advised. The vice president oversees the design of the strategic plan in conjunction with other relevant departments (Tesson, 2009). Ontario Telemedicine Network as an organization contributes immensely in the provision of learning and education. This is a strategy that the organization uses in improving the provision of health care by helping its practicing nurses, physicians and other professionals to furnish their skills, as they are required to improve on their input. This is also to ensure that the level of health care is raised so that patients receive sufficient treatment and services. It is also an intention of the organization to contribute to long-term progress of the telemedicine in order to advance the processes of health care provisions. Moreover, it is among the factors that contribute in creating an outlook that is recognized beyond the national boundaries of Canada (Buzug et al., 2000). The strategic plan of the organization has synchronized the general activities and services being offered by the organization. This has been achieved through an effective leadership model, stratified to deal with specific concerns and components of the organization. It has developed a sequence of leadership endowed with experience and knowledge of telemedicine. Top most leadership of the organization is comprised of people with vast and invaluable knowledge on telemedicine and human resource (Kaplan and Norton, 1996). This leadership model is at the disposal of necessary facilities that used in service delivery and efficiency improvement. These strategies are very important to the organization such that a successful implementation of the strategic plan brings many benefits to the organization. First, it focuses on education that has been influential in helping its professional staff and employees to gain requisite skills and knowledge. This has been productive in enhancing competent and skillful delivery of health care (Buzug et al., 2000). It also extends the organizational capacity in benefitting the society by providing relevant and competent education that is required in order to help the society deal with the problems of health. This happens without having to traverse many structures to seek for medical attention or consultation, or doctors and physicians using a lot of time travelling to attend to patients (Rocheleau, 2007). Its leadership model helps to synchronize the organizational activities by decentralizing management for effective administration. Every activity is monitored effectively and .problems responded to immediately. It also helps to mitigate any risk factors that may arise. Expansion of its structure helps to spread the accessibility of the organization’s health facilities. The strategy of this organization is beneficial to the organization in that it helps maintain stability while attracting investors. The leadership component of this organization makes it possible to manage effectively the financial position of the organization; hence, little financial problems are likely to be experienced. The stakeholders are therefore not in panic over the financial position of the organization (Latifi et al., 2011). Its compliance with the federal, state and local regulations is affirmative given to the fact that its operation is pervasive, offering health care services all over the Ontario province. It complies with both the state and local laws by providing services that meet the standards of health care delivery. It also meets the rules, regulations and specifications as put forward by the federal standards. The technological application in the telemedicine is enhanced throughout the organizational departments and functional facilities. The use of telemedicine as a strategy is important in benefitting not only the organization but also the society. Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA), elaborates how the system benefits the OTN organization (Buzug et al., 2000). Cost benefit analysis is very easy and a simple method of making decision on an issue that is mission critical. The technology is mostly applicable in sections where huge finance is involved or the event being undertaken is mission critical. This method is mostly prevalent in when a new system is to be implemented. It helps the management cone up with a sound decision on whether the new system should be implemented or not. The Design incorporates the enlisting and brainstorming of all costs that are related to a telemedicine project. The benefits of the projects is also are also listed and brainstormed (Buzug et al., 2000). Any cost that may rise from the telemedicine project with regard to implementation is also taken care of in the process. The CBA is viewed as essential most especially when cost of a project is placed against its benefit. For instance, researches have established that hospitals spent a lot of money in caring people with old age. In fact, hospitals spend more than 70% of the hospital funds in taking care of the old. With the fast rate of population increase, especially in developing countries, it is very possible to cut down the expenditure in this area (Tesson, 2009). The project enables the Ontario Telemedicine Network’s health facilities to reduce the number of patients visiting the hospital and at the same time eliminates the cost of traveling by the patients. The telemedicine system enables the patients to monitor their temperatures, blood pressure and various important send the data or the information to the center where monitoring takes place. This enables medical attendants such as nurses to estimate in prior the exact time when the patient needs attention. This will eliminate the need to admit patients due delay in medical intervention (Tesson, 2009). The PCT telehealth care expenditure is cost saving. The major concern is that basic and secondary cares initially operate in big premises. There is a competition of the two sectors yet they operate in complete different ways. The primary care has to incur more cost since they are the task or activities that they provide increase. Though there are benefits that come from the reduction of patient admission in the secondary care, advanced primary care implementation has to be established. The stakeholders are therefore in strong positions to earn better dividends while improving the organizational out-looks (Latifi et al., 2011). There has also been a growing demand of Telecare, which makes OTN to stand a stronger position through improving the efficiency of the technological application in the process of providing telehealth care. Consequently, the technology has also led to the introduction of different telemedicine devices such as those for managing weight, monitoring blood and rehabilitation. The key challenge that proves to be costly to the health service providers is how to apply them in the sector. Practical application has proven to be very difficult (Buzug et al., 2000). The privacy of medical information is very critical. As such, the health care providers should invest heavily in the security of the information system used to provide telemedicine services. It is very evident that the cost that is incurred in ensuring maximum information security is high. Some organizations invest lies in the system security at the expense of the security of critical medical information (Latifi et al., 2011). Internal processes OTN internal process involves the operation of the different departments of the organization. The organization has many departments and sections that require coordination. The leadership model of OTN enhances the internal process to have a cohesive system in which the information flow between different sectors and departments is properly managed. There is an acute care in which remote care of patients in trauma, critical situations or emergency is provide through a 24-7 expertise access (Buzug et al., 2000). The facilities of the organization are in place to support the communication system between the acute care patients and the physicians. The communication system helps in connecting and empowering home and community based care. Patients within community or home are supported to manage their disease from home and the communities without having to travel to hospital or health care facilities. A team of professional is put in place to deal with the concerns of these home or community based patients (Rocheleau, 2007). Web conferencing, webcasting and videoconferencing are used for interactive functions in learning and meetings to promote the best practices. Communication takes place through the mentioned interactive devices. Different sections of the organization communicate through the devices or phone technology in the process of coordination. OTN has also developed a state-of-the-art technology to increase access to health care offices. Secure networks have been developed by the organization to shift the health care offices next to home for the patients. These offices provide to the patients a single point of access in order to ensure that there is an effective patient care. They do this through room-based videoconferences or from mobile devices, laptop or desktop via a secure or private internet connection. Scheduling and referring are also done by the organization alongside providing care. Accessibility is enhanced for the patients in order to increase effective health provision (Latifi et al., 2011). OTN organization through its communication procedure is able to coordinate different programs. Some of the programs that it coordinates include Teletrauma, Aboriginal health Access Centers, Chronic disease management, teleburn, TM LHIN Nurse, Mental Health and addictions, Teleophthalmology, telestroke, and teledermatology. The services offered that completes the internal process include personal videoconferencing, web conferencing, telemedicine directory, scheduling (Kaplan, and Norton, 2001). Balanced Score Card Recommendations Ontario Telemedicine Network prides itself of efficient health care facilities that are provided to enhance not only accessibility to health care but also for patient to receive better services (Kaplan and Norton, 1996). However, despite good strategic plans and efficient leadership model, the organization needs to improve its innovative depth in order to invest effectively in virtual wards. Despite having adopted the concept, much has not been done most especially using predictive mathematical modeling, which helps to identify patients with high-risk cases of emergency (Kaplan and Norton, 1996). The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term care acknowledges the use of virtual wards as an innovative service model with the potentials of delivering high quality co-ordinated Medicare to the patient found within the community levels. It is therefore necessary that organization up the efforts to integrate the virtual ward concept within its systems so that it can increase the efficiency with which it serves the community through telemedicine or telehealth care (Buzug et al., 2000). The virtual ward team can be used to enhance patient monitoring in order to establish the vital signs of the disease. It is more applicable for patients with repeated history of hospitalization or admission to the hospital. By using mobile phones to contact the virtual ward patients, it is possible to arrange a home visit for further medical concerns. The organization should then improve on the virtual ward as a strategy and a management system to mitigate a majority of emergency cases (Kaplan, and Norton, 2001). Conclusion Health care is essential in human life with regard to diseases and casualties that are characteristic of the everyday life. It is therefore imperative to undertake an effective system assessment in order to identify weaknesses and additional requirements. A balanced scorecard observes performance against vision and strategy in order to improve management and strategies that can help improve the organizational outlook. Telemedicine is an efficient system that helps to improve greatly health care delivery to the society. References Buzug, T. M., Handels, H., Holz, D., International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Life Sciences: Medicine and Communication, Conference MEDICOM 2000, & International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Life Sciences: Medicine and Communication (MEDICOM 2000). (2001). Telemedicine: Medicine and communication ; [proceedings of the International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Life Sciences: Medicine and Communication (MEDICOM 2000), held September 28-29, 2000, in Remagen, Germany]. New York, NY [u. Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (1996). The balanced scorecard: Translating strategy into action. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (2001). The strategy-focused organization: How balanced scorecard companies thrive in the new business environment. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press. Latifi, R., Poropatich, R., & Hadeed, G. J. (2011). Telemedicine for trauma, emergencies, and disaster management. Boston: Artech House. Rocheleau, B. A. (2007). Case studies on digital government. Norwood Mass: Books24x7.com. Tesson, G. (2009). The making of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine: A case study in the history of medical education. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press. Read More