This article originally by Jo Quetsch, MA, RN on OR Manager. As COVID-19 cases escalate nationwide, health systems across the country are determining policies and procedures related to their resources, staffing, scheduling and more to prepare for anticipated patient surges.…
As a perioperative business manager for over a decade, I’ve seen dozens of approaches and projects to improve operating room efficiency. No matter how you calculate your operating room utilization, if it’s less than 80% there’s room for improvement. Even…
Excellent service processes are fast processes — this is the universal truth of service operations. Just as the water level in the bay hides the rocks from visibility, high levels of inventory mask underlying problems in manufacturing or logistics. Extending…
It seems as if news about another hospital laying off workers–or worse, closing–hits the news everyday; at last count 21 hospitals stopped treating patients in 2016. Hospitals and healthcare systems across the country, including some of the largest, laid off…
[bctt tweet="Reducing length of stay (LOS) has become a major priority for management in many hospitals." username="leantaas"] While reimbursement requirements are a major driver of this focus, reducing LOS can also decrease the number of hospital-acquired conditions (HACs), which are…
Hat tip to Sharon O’Keefe, CEO of the University of Chicago Medical Center, for introducing the phrase “make your assets sweat” to our team, which inspired me to write this article. The Affordable Care Act, increased government regulations and rising healthcare…
It would be an understatement to say that 2016 was a year of unanticipated results. I expect 2017 will be another fascinating year for providers, patients, suppliers and payers. As president and CMO of LeanTaaS, I expect to have a…
A common challenge with healthcare in general, and cancer care in particular, is the peaks and valleys in patient appointment scheduling, which often results in inefficient use of scarce and expensive resources, unpredictable wait times for patients and overtime hours…
Interoperability continues to be one of healthcare IT’s biggest trends in 2016 as the industry sees momentous forward movement. In fact, interoperability is not a new trend. It has been an important mission (and a challenge) for healthcare administrators for…
Most large, complex health systems rely on block schedules for managing the complexity of operating room utilization. The concept has a visceral appeal to it — give the surgeon or the service line a full-day or a half-day block, and…
