Continuous Improvement Strategies

Continuous Improvement Strategies

by Anthony Matthew Hopper
Released February 2018
Publisher(s): CRC Press
ISBN: 9781351650274

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Book description

During this era of continuous improvement, healthcare organizations need to be staffed by engaged, motivated, and hard-working frontline employees. As these clinical and non-clinical personnel handle most of the important tasks in any organization and are often the people who directly interact with patients and customers, it's the job of managers to oversee and motivate their staff members. Using Lean management strategies, this easy-to-read book for leaders and managers provides useful, insightful, and innovative information to help managers engage, motivate, and retain their employees during any Lean or other continuous improvement initiative.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Contents
  7. Preface
  8. Acknowledgments
  9. About the Author
  10. Chapter 1: Office-Level Healthcare Leaders: Who They Are and What They Do
    1. 1.1 A Brief Introduction
    2. 1.2 Healthcare Leaders: A Definition
    3. 1.3 Healthcare Leaders: A Significant Part of the Workforce
    4. 1.4 Types of Healthcare Leaders
    5. 1.5 Healthcare Leaders Are a Diverse Group of People
    6. 1.6 Where Do Office-Level Healthcare Leaders Fit In?
    7. 1.7 Office-Level Healthcare Leaders: The Most Important Cogs in the Corporate Wheel
    8. 1.8 The Three Interrelated Elements: Best Practices Management Techniques, a People-Focused Culture, and CI Methodologies
    9. 1.9 Healthcare Organizations Often Do a Poor Job of Training Office-Level Leaders
    10. 1.10 A Case In Point: What Does One Do with a Well-Connected but Troublesome Employee?
    11. 1.11 Many Office-Level Healthcare Leaders Do Not Learn Proper Management Skills in School
    12. 1.12 From a Healthcare Organization’s Perspective: Allowing Administrators to Stick with Suboptimal Leadership Practices
      1. 1.12.1 Healthcare Organizations Have Sometimes Espoused the Mantra of “Just Good Enough”
      2. 1.12.2 Resistance to Change at Hospitals and Other Patient-Focused Facilities: A Special Set of Circumstances
      3. 1.12.3 The Takeaway: Office-Level Healthcare Leaders Can Sometimes Get by with Being “Just Good Enough”
    13. 1.13 Some Key Reasons Why Individuals Stick with Ineffective, Inefficient Leadership and Organizational Techniques
      1. 1.13.1 Self-Interests Rule: Why Individuals and Organizations Sometimes Subscribe to Anachronistic Leadership Strategies
      2. 1.13.2 A Case in Point: Bad Management Practices in the Emergency Room
    14. 1.14 Key Reasons Why Office-Level Healthcare Leaders Should Adopt Best Practices Management and Organizational Approaches
      1. 1.14.1 Factors That Are Pressuring Healthcare Organizations to Become More Efficient and Effective
      2. 1.14.2 Healthcare Organizations Respond: Growing Focus on Best Practices Management and CI
    15. 1.15 Summing Things Up and Looking Ahead to Chapter 2—A Brief Synopsis of Key Leadership Ideas
    16. References
  11. Chapter 2: A Brief Synopsis of Key Leadership Ideas
    1. 2.1 A Brief Introduction
    2. 2.2 Understanding Office-Level Healthcare Leaders by Analyzing the Forces That Motivate Them
      1. 2.2.1 Self-Interests Play a Role in Office-Level Healthcare Leaders’ Decisions
      2. 2.2.2 An Office-Level Healthcare Leader’s Perceived Obligations: An Important Influence on His or Her Workplace Decisions
    3. 2.3 A Typical Administrator’s Ethical Beliefs: An Amalgam of Self-Interests and Duties
    4. 2.4 The Intense Desire to Leave a Legacy
    5. 2.5 Office-Level Healthcare Leaders Can Help Themselves When They Use Best Practices Management and Organizational Techniques
    6. 2.6 Strict Autocratic Management Styles
    7. 2.7 Today’s Office-Level Healthcare Leaders: The Old Management Styles No Longer Work as Well
    8. 2.8 Today’s Office-Level Healthcare Leaders Wear Many Hats
    9. 2.9 Best Practices Leadership Ideas
      1. 2.9.1 The Office-Level Healthcare Leader: First Among Equals
      2. 2.9.2 Key Tenets That Derive from the “First Among Equals” Doctrine
    10. 2.10 Good Healthcare Administrators Possess Strong Emotional Intelligence Skills
    11. 2.11 Managing and Motivating Workers: A Focus on Contracts
    12. 2.12 The Benefits of Using Best Practices Management Techniques
    13. 2.13 Summing Things Up and Looking Ahead to Chapter 3—A Primer on Continuous Improvement, Lean, and Six Sigma in the Healthcare Workplace
    14. References
  12. Chapter 3: A Primer on Continuous Improvement, Lean, and Six Sigma in the Healthcare Workplace
    1. 3.1 A Brief Introduction
    2. 3.2 CI Defined
    3. 3.3 The Differences between CI and Organizational Churn
    4. 3.4 Key Steps in the CI Process
    5. 3.5 CI-Focused Corporate Cultures: Reviewing the Past, Monitoring the Present, and Controlling the Future
      1. 3.5.1 Retrospective Analyses
      2. 3.5.2 Real-Time Analyses
      3. 3.5.3 Forward-Looking Analyses
    6. 3.6 Reasons for Adopting CI
    7. 3.7 CI Immersion: The Three-Level Perspective
    8. 3.8 Lean Six Sigma
    9. 3.9 The Key Philosophical and Methodological Differences between Lean and Six Sigma
    10. 3.10 It Makes Sense for Healthcare Organizations to Utilize Both Lean and Six Sigma
    11. 3.11 A Case in Point: The Emergency Room Staff Become More Efficient and Effective
    12. 3.12 Delving a Little Deeper into Lean’s Key Focus: Streamlining Work Processes by Eliminating Waste
    13. 3.13 Using the Five S’s as a Means to Understand Lean Principles
    14. 3.14 Key Tools in the Lean Arsenal
      1. 3.14.1 The SIPOC Diagram: A High-Level View of a Process
      2. 3.14.2 Using Spaghetti Diagrams to Track Movement
      3. 3.14.3 Creating Deployment Flowcharts in Order to Identify Process-Related Bottlenecks and Waste
      4. 3.14.4 The Value Stream Map: A Lean Staple
    15. 3.15 The DMAIC: Supporting Six Sigma’s Goals of Improving Performance and Providing Value to Stakeholders
    16. 3.16 Key Tools in Six Sigma’s Arsenal
      1. 3.16.1 Using a Fishbone Diagram to Get to the Root Causes of the Problem
      2. 3.16.2 The Pareto Chart: A Way to Determine Which Causes Are Most Important
      3. 3.16.3 Managing Variance with Statistical Control Charts
    17. 3.17 Key Principles that Both Lean and Six Sigma Have in Common with Each Other
      1. 3.17.1 Managing by Fact
      2. 3.17.2 Keep It Simple When Possible
      3. 3.17.3 Workers Need to Be Engaged, Flexible, and Adaptive
    18. 3.18 The Problems that Leaders at Resource-Challenged Institutions Face in Fully Utilizing Lean or Six Sigma
    19. 3.19 One Thing to Keep in Mind When Integrating Lean Six Sigma Ideals (or Any Other CI-Related Processes) into the Workplace: Embrace Technology and Routines but Do Not Stamp Out Creativity and Individuality
    20. 3.20 Summing Things Up and Looking Ahead to Chapter 4—Motivating Employees: Redesigning Organizational Level Processes to Create a Culture of Continuous Improvement
    21. References
  13. Chapter 4: Motivating Employees: Redesigning Organizational-Level Processes to Create a Culture of Continuous Improvement
    1. 4.1 A Brief Introduction
    2. 4.2 High-Performing Healthcare Organizations Create Cultures that Support CI
    3. 4.3 The Entire Organization Needs to Get Behind CI Initiatives
    4. 4.4 Healthcare Organizations: The Challenges of Diversity
    5. 4.5 Creating Homogeneity Out of Diversity: The Role of a Healthcare Organization’s Mission, Vision, and Values Statements
    6. 4.6 Controlling the Variables
    7. 4.7 Ways to Encourage Employees to Inculcate the Organization’s Mission, Vision, and Values
    8. 4.8 Creating a Sense of Unity: Putting the Organization First and the Department or Profession Second
    9. 4.9 Creating an Amicable Work Environment
    10. 4.10 Answer the “Why” Questions
    11. 4.11 The Flaws Are Systemic and Not Personal
    12. 4.12 Embrace HITs When Possible
    13. 4.13 A Belief That the Best Days Are Not Behind but in Front
    14. 4.14 Summing Things Up and Looking Ahead to Chapter 5—In the Trenches: Departmental-Level Strategies for Creating and Maintaining a Culture of Continuous Improvement
    15. References
  14. Chapter 5: In the Trenches: Departmental-Level Strategies for Creating and Maintaining a Culture of Continuous Improvement
    1. 5.1 A Brief Introduction
    2. 5.2 Where CI Is Concerned: Dysfunctional Departmental Cultures Can Waylay the Best-Laid Organizational Strategies
    3. 5.3 From the Point of View of CI: Key Aspects of a Dysfunctional Culture
    4. 5.4 A Case in Point: A Dysfunctional Claims Department
    5. 5.5 High-Performing Cultures Embrace Some Employee-Related Inefficiencies
    6. 5.6 Cultures that Support CI: Key Employee-Related Traits and Perspectives
    7. 5.7 Employee Self-Confidence Is a Key Trait in a CI-Focused Workplace
    8. 5.8 Structured Autonomy Is a Necessary Aspect of a CI-Supportive Culture
    9. 5.9 Satisfied Employees Are Critical to the Success of CI Initiatives
    10. 5.10 Motivated Workers Are a CI-Focused Administrator’s Most Important Asset
    11. 5.11 Team Players Are an Integral Part of Any CI Strategy
      1. 5.11.1 One-on-One Strategies
      2. 5.11.2 Ways to Foster a Culture That Supports Cooperative Behaviors
      3. 5.11.3 Team-Based Strategies: Additional Comments for Office-Level Healthcare Leaders
      4. 5.11.4 Keeping Track of Workers’ Team-Related Strengths and Weaknesses
    12. 5.12 Employee Loyalty: A Key Part of Any CI-Supportive Culture
    13. 5.13 Trust: The Glue That Holds Every CI Project Together
    14. 5.14 Employee Adaptability: Critical to the Success of Many CI Implementation Strategies
    15. 5.15 Additional Employee-Related Skills That CI-Focused Administrators Should Covet
    16. 5.16 Summing Things Up and Looking Ahead to Chapter 6—A Guide to Implementing and Monitoring Quality Improvement Initiatives
    17. References
  15. Chapter 6: A Guide to Implementing and Monitoring Quality Improvement Initiatives
    1. 6.1 A Brief Introduction
    2. 6.2 Some General Tips for Improving a Department’s Efficiency and Effectiveness
    3. 6.3 CI at Small or Resource-Challenged Institutions: Fewer Team-Related Projects but Employee Cooperation Is Paramount
    4. 6.4 Keeping Things Simple
    5. 6.5 IPPIM
    6. 6.6 IPPIM versus ICADE
    7. 6.7 The Ideas Generation Stage
      1. 6.7.1 Clearing Up an Ambiguity: Causes versus Problems
      2. 6.7.2 Get to Know the Relevant Technologies and Employee Workflow Processes
      3. 6.7.3 Review Relevant Data and Talk to Key Stakeholders
      4. 6.7.4 For Interdepartmental Projects: Make Sure Everyone Understands and Accepts the Power Arrangements
      5. 6.7.5 Developing the “Problems to Tackle” List
    8. 6.8 The Presentation Stage
      1. 6.8.1 Go into the Meeting with a Clear Strategy and Do Not Forget about Secondary Goals
      2. 6.8.2 Tailor the Presentation to Offset Supervisor or Peer-Related Weaknesses
      3. 6.8.3 Trust Is Vital
      4. 6.8.4 Briefing Essentials
    9. 6.9 The Planning Stage
      1. 6.9.1 Cooperation from Management and Frontline Staff Is Important
      2. 6.9.2 Ways to Induce Employee Cooperation
      3. 6.9.3 Some General Tips for Administrators Who Work for Small or Resource-Challenged Healthcare Companies
    10. 6.10 The Implementation Stage
    11. 6.11 The Monitoring Stage
      1. 6.11.1 Making QI-Related Changes Stick: A Guide for Office-Level Leaders at Small or Resource-Challenged Healthcare Organizations
      2. 6.11.2 Additional Advice for Administrators Who Work for Small or Resource-Challenged Healthcare Organizations
    12. 6.12 Allocate Some Time for Self-Reflection
    13. 6.13 Summing Things Up and Looking Ahead to Chapter 7—How to Make the Right Decisions When One Does Not Have the Time to Plan
    14. References
  16. Chapter 7: How to Make the Right Decisions When One Does Not Have the Time to Plan
    1. 7.1 A Brief Introduction
    2. 7.2 A Healthcare Administrator’s Workday: Hectic and Somewhat Unpredictable
    3. 7.3 “In the Moment”: A Healthcare Supervisor’s Ad Hoc Decisions Can Make All of the Difference
    4. 7.4 Office-Level Healthcare Leaders’ Reliance on Advanced Technologies Might Leave Them More Vulnerable to Some Types of Surprises
    5. 7.5 Continuous Self-Improvement
    6. 7.6 Building the Right Mental Maps: The Key to Making the Best Ad Hoc Decisions
    7. 7.7 Constructing Internal Mental Maps
    8. 7.8 Creating Game Plans for Dealing with the Most Common Office-Related Ad Hoc Occurrences
    9. 7.9 Deftly Handling Ad Hoc Employee and Peer Interactions Requires Good Interpersonal Skills and Staff-Related Knowledge
      1. 7.9.1 Managing Ad Hoc Interactions by Controlling the Office Environment and Focusing on Formal Power Arrangements
      2. 7.9.2 The Most Effective Office-Level Healthcare Leaders Can Handle Almost Any Ad Hoc Situation
      3. 7.9.3 Self-Awareness Is the Key to Identifying Personal Weaknesses and Ameliorating These Flaws
      4. 7.9.4 Some Suggestions for Office-Level Healthcare Leaders Who Want to Improve Their Interpersonal Skills
    10. 7.10 Get to Know the Staff
    11. 7.11 Protect Stakeholders’ Privacy
    12. 7.12 A Case in Point: An Office-Level Healthcare Leader Happens to Run Across an Employee While at the Grocery Store
    13. 7.13 Summing Things Up and Looking Ahead to Chapter 8—Promoting a Vibrant Office Culture: Suggestions for Healthcare Administrators
    14. References
  17. Chapter 8: Promoting a Vibrant Office Culture: Suggestions for Healthcare Administrators
    1. 8.1 A Brief Introduction
    2. 8.2 The Typical Healthcare Administrator’s Important Office-Related Objectives
    3. 8.3 The Healthcare Supervisor’s Key to Success: Maintaining a Vibrant Office Culture
    4. 8.4 Some of the Important Benefits of Creating a Vibrant Office Culture
    5. 8.5 Focus on Developing the Right Infrastructure
    6. 8.6 Three Types of Workers: Habitual Complainers, Cheerleaders, and Fence Sitters
      1. 8.6.1 Strategies for Successfully Managing Habitual Complainers
      2. 8.6.2 Encourage the Office Cheerleaders: They Are the Administrator’s Champions
      3. 8.6.3 The Fence Sitters Serve as the Office’s Cultural Barometer
    7. 8.7 Controlling the Narrative: An Important Part of Creating a Vibrant Office Culture
    8. 8.8 Leveraging Rituals and Ceremonies to Boost Employee Morale and Affirm Organizational and Departmental Values
    9. 8.9 Five Additional Strategies That Healthcare Administrators Can Use to Help Them Cultivate Vibrant Office Cultures
    10. 8.10 Summing Things Up and Looking Ahead to Chapter 9—Developing and Enforcing Departmental Rules and Regulations
    11. References
  18. Chapter 9: Developing and Enforcing Departmental Rules and Regulations
    1. 9.1 A Brief Introduction
    2. 9.2 Four Types of Rules
    3. 9.3 A Healthcare Department’s Regulations Help to Define and Influence Its Culture
    4. 9.4 Office-Level Mandates: Bulwarks Against Negative Outside Influences
    5. 9.5 A Guide to Enforcing Externally Created Regulations
    6. 9.6 Suggestions for Creating Effective and Fair Office-Level Policies
    7. 9.7 Tips for Successfully Implementing and Enforcing Office-Level Rules
    8. 9.8 Summing Things Up and Looking Ahead to Chapter 10—A Recap
    9. References
  19. Chapter 10: A Recap
    1. 10.1 A Brief Introduction
    2. 10.2 The Typical Office-Level Healthcare Leader—An Important but Often Underappreciated Cog in the Corporate Wheel (Chapter 1)
    3. 10.3 Healthcare Leaders—Becoming More Interested in Utilizing Best Practices Management and CI Methods (Chapter 1)
    4. 10.4 Key Factors That Motivate Healthcare Administrators (Chapter 2)
    5. 10.5 Comparing Strict Autocratic Methods to Best Practices Management Styles (Chapter 2)
    6. 10.6 Defining and Describing CI (Chapter 3)
    7. 10.7 Comparing and Contrasting Lean and Six Sigma (Chapter 3)
    8. 10.8 Key Attributes of Organizational Cultures That Support CI (Chapter 4)
    9. 10.9 Suggestions for Fostering CI-Supportive Organizational Cultures (Chapter 4)
    10. 10.10 From a CI-Related Perspective—A Look at the Key Features of Dysfunctional Departmental Cultures (Chapter 5)
    11. 10.11 Key Aspects of High-Performing Office Cultures (Chapter 5)
    12. 10.12 Some General Tips for Improving a Department’s Efficiency and Effectiveness (Chapter 6)
    13. 10.13 A Guide for Office-Level Leaders Who Are Working Solo—Suggestions for Developing, Implementing, and Monitoring QI Initiatives (Chapter 6)
    14. 10.14 A Healthcare Administrator’s “In-the-Moment” Decisions Can Have a Significant Impact on His or Her Office-Related Metrics (Chapter 7)
    15. 10.15 Suggestions for Office-Level Healthcare Leaders Who Want to Make Good Ad Hoc Decisions (Chapter 7)
    16. 10.16 Defining and Describing a Vibrant Office Culture (Chapter 8)
    17. 10.17 Strategies for Successfully Managing Habitual Complainers, Cheerleaders, and Fence Sitters (Chapter 8)
    18. 10.18 Five Additional Strategies That Healthcare Administrators Can Use to Help Them Cultivate Vibrant Office Cultures (Chapter 8)
    19. 10.19 Developing and Enforcing Departmental Rules and Regulations (Chapter 9)
    20. 10.20 Summing Things Up
    21. References
  20. Index

Product information

  • Title: Continuous Improvement Strategies
  • Author(s): Anthony Matthew Hopper
  • Release date: February 2018
  • Publisher(s): CRC Press
  • ISBN: 9781351650274