We need a process to improve a healthcare process
Almost any short visit to your nearest hospital will leave you with the notion that something here can be done better. Waiting times abound even though many people seem to…
Approaches to improve the delivery of care
Simulate, Simulate, Simulate
Imagine you are a new Physician working in a group practice as part of an Academic Medical Center (AMC). You may be surprised to learn that you are soon expected…
You can’t outrun the law
At some point during the first session of our courses on Operations Management, Process Improvement, or Managing Health Care Processes we find the need to understand and utilize Little's Law.…
Relevant Peer reviewed publications
Working at Johns Hopkins University in the Business and Medial schools over a decade or so resulted in a number of published works that you may use to develop understanding,…
Everybody Knows the academic hospital is less efficient – right?
I once had a student in my course on Improving Healthcare Processes tell me that since they were pregnant they would look for a hospital that was not an Academic…
What clinics can learn from restaurants
Among my varied adventures as an undergraduate student at Virginia tech was my time spent working in a small pizza restaurant. In the role, I was often assigned to come…
When queueing theory breaks down
In an appointment-based healthcare system congestion can easily be caused by patients arriving late. There is also the universally accepted idea that people don’t like waiting. With these factors in…
Data collection to improve healthcare processes
In our work with Academic Medical Centers we have engaged in in-depth study of a number of offices, clinics, departments, hospitals, and insurance companies. Such an exploration involves data analysis…