Improving Patient Care and Hospital Revenue

Business Impact

Hospital Increased Patient Satisfaction

A large comprehensive care hospital dramatically increased patient satisfaction and hospital admissions by systematically decreasing patient wait times. This allowed them to take advantage of their newly built ward and to reach their target maternity admissions.

"The problems are real, but the opportunities for improving them are inspiring!"
– Vice President

Key Insights

Stroud and the Hospital team found that Wait Time was a key driver of patient satisfaction. They realized that decreasing their patients' wait times would have two positive affects:

• Increases in patient satisfaction would generate increased demand through repeat business and referrals
• More patients could be seen per day by each provider due to increased throughput

Real and Lasting Results

By applying key improvement tools and methodologies, the team drove down patient wait time by over 7%, increasing both satisfaction and office visits per day.

Approach

"I didn't realize there were so many opportunities in the department!"
– Senior Vice President

Situation

The hospital was faced with a 35% shortfall against target maternity admissions and eroding patient satisfaction scores in their OB/GYN practice. Through they had recently invested in a new ward, they were not gaining the expected market share.

Results Based Approach

A cross-functional team focused on identifying specific improvements to improve patient satisfaction and on building excitement to roll out a successful change process. The team included representatives from the front office, clinical staff, and the clinicians. Throughout the effort, the team members learned new skills while tackling and recovering the top opportunities.

Reevaluating What is Possible

The team initially had many preconceptions of what could be causing the long wait times, such as:

• "We do not have enough consultation rooms."
• "The registration process takes too long."
• "We do not have enough providers or clinical staff."

By mapping out the patient flow and identifying the individual processes that might cause bottlenecks, the team identified and quantified the largest opportunities for improvement.

"I liked the way you applied science and statistics in an emotional environment."
– CEO

Step Change Results

• Creating a level appointment schedule to match the confirmed appointments with available capacity
• Revising the staffing schedule to ensure the most effective ratio of support staff-to-doctor ratio
• Reducing the clinical prep time using two efficiency techniques: SMED and Kanban

Potential Unleashed

Wait times decreased significantly in a matter of weeks and patients' satisfactions scores reflected this change. The hospital's maternity admissions increased to desired levels and the decreased waiting times were sustained as the practice grew.