Piedmont Overlook Care Organization

Summary of Performance Improvement Initiative 

Since its establishment in 1986, the primary goal of Piedmont Overlook Care Organization (POCO) has been to promote health and wellness in the communities in the southeast of the country. Over the last few years, it is evident that POCO has faced numerous challenges which have derailed its endeavors. POCO’s performance improvement initiative has relied on optimizing its services, addressing the financial constraints that the customers face and maximizing efficiency to curb operational challenges. The decline in revenue collection and increase in the number of uninsured patients has prompted POCO to develop initiatives that enhance the quality of healthcare, conduct its processes efficiently and improve the allocation of resources to the affected departments of the organization.

Summary of chosen PI/ model with explanation/analysis

The decline of revenue collection and an increase in the number of uninsured patients calls for a performance improvement model which strives to reduce operational costs and promote efficiency. The Lean Sigma Model provides that. The Lean Sigma Model improves the performance of an organization by using its Six Sigma principles that help reduce waste and variation. This enhances the organization’s performance by significantly reducing operational costs and preserving resources. The Lean Sigma Model would also benefit patients because of its customer-focused approach that emphasizes customer satisfaction and high-quality service delivery. With the number of patients at POCO, this model would improve employee morale by increasing engagement and promoting a spirit of understanding in the workplace.

Summary of PI model

SWOT Analysis 

The SWOT analysis helps identify the strengths and weaknesses while providing the opportunities and threats an organization faces. Using the Lean Sigma Model, POCO can significantly take advantage of strengths to grow while also taking the initiative to address weaknesses. POCO can cultivate opportunities and curb imminent threats by maximizing efficiency and reducing waste.

Data Management Process and Data Quality 

The increase in the number of patients at POCO has called for an efficient data management process and improved quality of decision-making. Data management is essential, and using the Lean Sigma Model, POCO can streamline its services by reducing variations in service delivery, ensuring that the data collection and analysis process is efficient. Ideally, this will improve the data quality, enabling POCO to improve its performance.

Technology Challenges 

By reducing resource waste, the Lean Sigma Model can significantly reduce the cost of operations. As a result, the surplus resources would be used to improve the technological improvement of POCO’s healthcare. This can be done by acquiring electronic health records and providing telemedicine solutions.

Resources and Staffing 

Resource distribution is a vital element in the performance of POCO. The Lean Sigma Model would facilitate the optimal allocation of resources throughout the organization by reducing potential waste and variation in resource use. Lean Sigma Model can also ensure that human resources, in staffing, are adequately distributed. With the increase in the number of patients, the organization can reduce time, effort and talent waste, thereby achieving an optimally efficient operation process.

Work Processes

Work processes such as employee orientation, emergency room saturation and an increase in the number of patients are challenges POCO faces. The Lean Sigma model can improve the performance of these processes by eliminating waste and variation. This leads to an optimal level of performance where all the processes are done efficiently.

Financials 

The declining rates of POCO revenue collection call for an efficient level of finance management. The Lean Sigma Model can significantly reduce wasted resources, enabling the organization to save on cost and channel their finances to essential endeavours.

Conclusion

In summary, The Lean Sigma Model provides a strategy that POCO can use to improve its performance in numerous paradigms. It can also help reduce resource waste, enabling POCO to improve its healthcare delivery processes.

References

Parmar, P. S., & Desai, T. N. (2020). Evaluating Sustainable Lean Six Sigma enablers using fuzzy DEMATEL: A case of an Indian manufacturing organization. Journal of Cleaner Production, 265, 121802.

Quality and Performance Improvement in Healthcare: Theory, Practice, and Management

Seventh Edition. Chapter 8 Refining the Continuum of Care

Rejikumar, G., Aswathy Asokan, A., & Sreedharan, V. R. (2020). Impact of data-driven decision-making in Lean Six Sigma: an empirical analysis. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 31(3-4), 279-296.