Operations Management - Case Study Example

? Operations Management Bypass surgery helps the patient to lose weight by altering how the small intestines and stomach handles the eaten food. After bypass surgery, the stomach becomes smaller; the patient will feel satisfied with less food. The eaten food does not flow to some parts of the small intestines and stomach for digestion. Before the surgery is carried out the patient undergoes general anesthesia to feel pain free; it helps the patient to sleep. During surgery, the patient undergoes two steps: the first step makes the stomach of the patient smaller. The surgeon uses staples to dissect the stomach into upper and bottom section. The upper section is usually smaller while the bottom section is larger (Klein 86). The smaller upper section is where the food flows after eating. The smaller upper section, also called the pouch, is compared to the size of a walnut. This section holds about a single ounce of food. The second procedure for this surgery is called the bypass. During this step, the surgeon connects jejuna to a small hole in a patient’s pouch. The eaten food will flow from the pouch to the small intestines. This will enable the patient to absorb fewer calories. Bypass surgery can be carried out in two ways. In open surgery the surgeon makes a surgical cut to open the belly. Bypass will be done by working on the patients small intestines, stomach, and other parts. Consequently, the surgeon might use the tiny camera referred as laparoscope (Apple, Lock, and Peebles 76). This process is termed as the laparoscopy; camera is put in the patient's body. In laparoscopy, the surgeon makes small cuts in the patient's belly. Then he passes the camera through one of the cuts. The process is linked to the monitor of the video in the operating room. The surgeon will keep track of the belly at the screen. The surgeon then uses surgical instruments to carry out the bypass. The process can be represented in the form of a flow chart as shown below. 2. The minimum time the patient takes in the hospital before being discharged after paying cash is four days. The average time for those using insurance is about two weeks. Subsequently, the patient undergoing a laparoscopic surgery takes only two days. When the patient pays cash for the bariatric surgery, it will save the patient that stress of going through counseling, and various tests. Paying cash will also save the patient the agony of proving to the surgeon that he has tried other means of weight loss. Consequently, it reduces the patient stress of waiting for half a year before the procedure. Therefore, paying cash is something that the patient needs to consider (Apple, Lock, and Peebles 76). When surgery is paid in cash, they give the patient an option of choosing the surgeon to carry out the surgery. It does not involve longer procedures like the insurance. When the patient pays by cash, he normally spends one to three days in the hospital. When a patient undergoes laparoscopy, he stays in the hospital for two to three days. When he patients undergo this procedure, they recover faster and return to normal in two weeks time (McGowan and Chopra 89). The hernias rate in open surgery is reduced significantly. Therefore, the patients who pay cash are better off based on the procedural types to select from. Paying cash enables the patient to choose his location for the surgery and the kind of surgeon to be attended to. Dealing with insurance is always frustrating, but most insurance companies have realized that to cover procedures of bariatric makes financial sense (Apple, Lock, and Peebles 54). Paying cash enables the patient to have surgery almost immediately and also discharging is soon. The patient does not undergo the risk of being turned down due to coverage issues. There are reported cases of turn down from insurance companies at the last minutes of the surgery. 6. Assuming the patients get treatment by an insurance cover and go for open surgery. The Bariatric center will make 945,000 Dollars: Number of inpatient= 63 Open Surgery Cost=$ 15,000 Total Revenue= (63*$15,000) =$945,000. Even if the patient has doctors coverage and recommendation from the health insurance, the insurer of health might not fund for the surgery bill (McGowan and Chopra 65). Denial of insurance and unattainability of prerequisite is the reason why most patients do not go for laparoscopic surgery. Therefore, approximately 25% of patients requiring bariatric surgery do not get the coverage before approval. It is not surprising for companies of health insurance not to pay for surgeries of weight loss, yet they pay conditions associated with obesity. Obesity surgeries are cost effective compared to conditions associated with the obesity (Debas 32). Assuming the patients use insurance as their mode of payment for open surgeries, the Centre will make from every person. Every year, the cost of obesity to the nation is one hundred and seventeen billion dollars in insurance. From this amount, four billion dollars is lost in productivity to obesity. Obese people records an increase in health care services and medication than their normal counterparts. The rise in revenue is connected to the medical services to cure obesity and obesity conditions that are related (Klein 93). 7. Assuming all patients use insurance for payment and go for laparoscopic surgery, Bariatric Center should invest in more rooms. Bariatric center should also hire another surgeon who can perform tricks of laparoscope. Consequently, the Center needs to reassign some of the duties among the employees to manage loads of work. The Bariatric Center needs to invest in various facilities to improve capacity. The center needs to hire another surgeon or tow practitioners to their staff who will be handling consultation. Also, the pathway to the center need to be developed to address the increase in number of their patients. Currently, the center has uneven pathways, with the bariatric surgery being carried out at the end of the unit. In this perspective, careful needs are required to the proper approach to develop the pathways (Myerson 34). Bariatric surgery is a cost effective and clinically specialized service to treat obesity. The current access criteria need revision considering the rise in commissioned activity. However most people seeking help to curb obesity problem will need non-surgical management, with surgeries only reserved for given number of people (Apple, Lock, and Peebles 76). The provision and surgery services must be within the quality standards of national guidance (Debas 82). This includes a minimum number of patients to ensure quality and safety offered to the population. In summary, the Center's board needs to expedite pathway development to improve the management services of weight loss for the population. This will encourage any planned approaches in the surgery. The Center needs to agree to a plan of investment to increase the rate of the population from 80 to 300 cases. Consequently, the Center must revise criteria for bariatric surgery to broaden them to incorporate evidence. These surgeries' benefits are greater in people with early co morbidity set. Until the Centre increases the planned volume to the level to sustain local service relating with quality standards, the Centre should continue (Debas 56). 8. For an open surgery, Each patient that needs surgery= $ 1,000 Average price that the Center charges= $ 15,000 Difference in cost= ($15,000-$1,000) = $ 14,000 Weekly capacity for Bariatric Centre= 63 Weekly Cost =($14,000*63) = $ 882,000. For a laparoscopy surgery, Each patient that needs surgery= $ 2,000 Average price that the Center charges= $ 18,000 Difference in cost= ($18,000-$2,000) = $ 16,000 Weekly capacity for Bariatric Centre= 60 Weekly Cost =($16,000*60) = $ 1,080,000. From a financial perspective, the Center is encouraged to open surgery than the laparoscopic surgeries. Over the years, laparoscopic has been proved to be a safer though expensive approach to gastric bypass. Its cost is higher compares to open surgery. The increase in cost has resulted in questions whether laparoscopic is cost effective approach to open surgery. The Center considered the cost involved with the operation, income lost, and perioperative complications. There are a lot of differences associated with the two types of surgeries regarding the profiles of perioperative complications, recovery time, and the general expense of the two surgery approach. The open surgery was linked with increased perioperative complications, majorly the complications of the extra intestinal and larger mortality of the perioperatives (Apple, Lock, and Peebles 98). Laparoscopic is linked with the shorter stays in hospital, rise in complications of the intestine, and conversion incidence to the open surgeries. The demographic of patients and extra loss in weight are similar in both laparoscopic and open surgery. Laparoscopic is regarded a cost effective approach to open surgery. Despite the rise in cost of laparoscopic, the patient undergoes fewer suffering and complications of life threatening perioperative. Therefore, in financial perspective, open surgery is better off compared to laparoscopic (Sasse 54). Open surgery Works Cited Apple, Robin F., James Lock, and Rebecka Peebles. Is Weight Loss Surgery Right for you? Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. Debas, Haile T. Gastrointestinal Surgery Pathophysiology and Management. New York: Springer, 2004. Print. Klein, Ted. A User's Guide to Bypass Surgery. Athens [Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1996. Print. McGowan, Mary P., and Jo Chopra. Gastric Bypass Surgery: Everything you Need to Know to Make an Informed Decision. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004. Print. Myerson, Mark. Reconstructive Foot and Ankle Surgery Management of Complications. 2nd ed. Edinburgh: Saunders, 2010. Print. Sasse, Kent. Outpatient Weight-Loss Surgery: Safe and Successful Weight Loss with Modern Bariatric Surgery : A Sasse guide. Reno, Nev.: 360 Pub., 2009. Print. Read More