Quality Quandaries: Shortening the Throughput Time of a Hospital's Billing Process

Schoonhoven, Marit; Lubbers, Caroline; Does, Ronald J. M. M.

doi:10.1080/08982112.2012.758287

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Broadly, our study falls into the area of business process analysis and management [ 30 ]. Time management and throughput/lead time reduction are key touchpoints in process management [ 31 ], especially in human service [ 32 ], as well as healthcare settings [ 33 – 35 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electronic prescription as a driver for digitalization in Finnish pharmacies

Peltoniemi

Suomi

Peura³

et al. 2021

BMC Health Serv Res

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Background Finnish community pharmacies have undergone digitalization during the past decade. The introduction of the electronic prescription has had a significant impact on pharmacy workflows, such as the dispensing process. This inevitably has significant sociotechnical implications. We examine the impact of digitalization on the dispensing process and the sociotechnical orientation of a pharmacy. Methods We utilize data collected in customer service situations in Finnish community pharmacies at two points in time: in the traditional workflow, when electronic prescriptions were not in use, and in the new direct dispensing workflow, which is the usual delivery model in the case of electronic prescriptions. We analyze this data in terms of changes in workflow efficiency. We also draw on existing literature to build a conceptual model for digitalization in the pharmacy sector from a sociotechnical standpoint. Results In the Finnish environment, the results, based on our study sample, show that with electronic prescriptions and the direct dispensing model, the delivery time for a single medication over the counter was reduced by 13%. The results also indicate that the process has become more predictable, as the variation in terms of the workflow lead time has decreased. Conclusions The results indicate that the dispensing process has become more efficient in terms of time and throughput as well as more technically oriented and predictable. From a sociotechnical perspective, the results indicate that the technical subsystem has strengthened, and pharmacies have adapted to the new technology in the dispensing process.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electronic prescription as a driver for digitalization in Finnish pharmacies

Peltoniemi

Suomi

Peura³

et al. 2021

BMC Health Serv Res

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“…Both of the theoretical studies concluded that Lean can be applied to the health care industry, and the empirical ones show results actually delivered in oncological units in two Brazilian hospitals. According to Mazzocato et al (2010), Lean was applied in several of a hospital's functional units, including emergency units, cardiovascular sectors (for example, Schoonhoven et al 2011), laboratories, and administration (for example, Schoonhoven et al 2013). This study focuses on the surgery department.…”

Section: Literature Review: Lean Health Carementioning

confidence: 99%

Improving Hospital Performance by Use of Lean Techniques: An Action Research Project in Brazil

Filho

Boschi

Rentes

et al. 2015

Quality Engineering

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This article presents the implementation of Lean health care techniques in a surgery department of a Brazilian hospital. The proposed Lean methodology is based on a set of nested improvement cycles that are used to continuously improve the value chain. The results of the implementation showed improvement in cycle time, capacity, and savings in costs. Another important improvement was a significant reduction of 94 percent in the index of delayed surgery due to the lack of materials and a reduction in postsurgery infection.

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“…Thereby, it is possible to calculate what the over or under capacity in the process is and what the result for idle time in the process is. Example projects from this category may be found in Schoonhoven et al (2013) and Erdmann et al (2013b). The following are the exemplary projects from the sample fitting of the generic speed definitions:…”

Section: Generic Lean Six Sigma Project Definitions For Performance Dimension Speedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inter-industry generic Lean Six Sigma project definitions

Lameijer

Does

Mast

2016

IJLSS

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Purpose The objective of this research is to provide practitioners with inter-industry applicable rules and guidelines for the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) project definition phase. This research resulted in 13 inter-industry generic project definitions that are divided by four performance dimensions: quality, dependability, speed and cost efficiency. Design/methodology/approach A total of 312 previously executed LSS improvement projects in a broad variety of industries at black belt or master black belt level are analyzed. All these projects have followed the LSS methodology and are characterized by the use of critical to quality (CTQ) measurements and the structured improvement method of define, measure, analyse, improve and control for operations improvement. Findings This research resulted in 13 inter-industry generic project definitions that are divided by four performance dimensions: quality, dependability, speed and cost efficiency. Three factors that have stood out in this research are; the difficulty to capture the performance dimension flexibility in LSS project definitions, the strong focus on internal organizational benefits in defining CTQs for LSS project definitions and the unclear alignment of LSS project definitions to existing strategic objectives of the company. Originality/value This research established useable generic LSS project definitions including generic CTQ’s measures, applicable to multiple industries. These generic LSS project definitions provide useful guidance in the initial LSS project phase, helping to decompose strategic focal points into clear and measurable project objectives.

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Quality Quandaries: Shortening the Throughput Time of a Hospital's Billing Process

Cited by 9 publications

References 2 publications

Electronic prescription as a driver for digitalization in Finnish pharmacies

Electronic prescription as a driver for digitalization in Finnish pharmacies

Improving Hospital Performance by Use of Lean Techniques: An Action Research Project in Brazil

Inter-industry generic Lean Six Sigma project definitions

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