In the case study, Katie Bent, CEO of Middle County Hospital (MCH), invited a new management intern to participate in the morning meeting. During the meeting, Katie announced that the Hospital Board had asked her to prepare a presentation on the status of continuous quality improvement (CQI). The program is crucial for the hospital’s operation and its accreditation by JCAHO, so the CQI report should include the analysis of the issues and provide solutions for the improvement. According to Charantimath (2017), “concepts of quality and excellence form an essential pillar of healthcare delivery” (p. 167). The following work reflects the role of the quality management intern in the CQI project, provides a summary of the case and recommendations to improve the situation.
The intern who had studied quality management at State University was assigned to work with Nathan Walker, director of quality, and to assist him in preparation for the proposal on CQI. During an informal meeting with his new colleague, Nathan admitted that he was not proficient in the technical aspects of quality. The intern agreed to share his knowledge of quality management that he obtained while studying operations management. Nathan provided his assistant with the data on frequent redos in the imaging area and mentioned that they result in patient dissatisfaction, costs increase, and treatment delays (Sower, 2011). Finally, Nathan asked the intern to find a way to enhance the patient experience in the areas of imaging and food service.
The CQI report should reflect the long-term focus of MCH on quality of care and patient satisfaction through the implementation of short-term measures. In Part 1, the report should contain the analysis of the redo data with conclusions. The imaging redo data analysis for a 2-month period leads to the conclusion that variation is present in the imaging samples as they often range from complemented to warned. However, the introduction of the new system decreased the number of warned imaging. For instance, during day 9, there was a maximum of 8 redos (warned imaging), while during day 42 there were no redos (complemented imaging) (Sower, 2011, p. 272). Charantimath (2017) claims that variation is “the enemy of quality” (p. 168). Therefore, project objectives should include further minimization of redos and improvements in the consistency of imaging results. As a quality management intern, I would recommend the director of quality to determine whether the causes of imaging variations are natural and inevitable, or assignable. In the case of assignable causes, it is worth investigating the differences in workers or machines that might contribute to variation.
Part 2 of the project focuses on the data related to the food service functioning, including the proposal for the improvement in this area. The summary of meal comments contains the categories of food temperature, choice of meals, taste, delivery and pickup lateness, and other observations. The summary analysis reveals negative patient feedback for the selection of meals, its taste, and late delivery. Thus, I would recommend optimizing food preparation procedures to ensure prompt delivery. Additionally, dietary menus should provide an adequate choice of dishes with improved taste.
Nathan’s data might be arranged using the work breakdown structure (WBS) (see Appendix) to illustrate the objectives to deal with the existing concerns in the imaging area and food service. WBS divides a project into meaningful components that subdivide into activities for project realization. WBS is a valuable project planning tool as it contains key components of the project and allows the use of a template for future projects (Pheng, 2018). Additional data on personnel qualifications and the condition of the machinery might be needed for successful WBS implementation and to define quality determinants in the imaging area and food service department.
Why should anyone care? The situation of MCH is important as it reflects the common issues with quality management in a clinical setting, such as variation in the results of procedures and patient dissatisfaction. Improved quality control in healthcare organizations may lead to improved patient experience, reduced treatment costs, and effective time management.
References
Charantimath, P. M. (2017). Total quality management (3rd ed.). Pearson.
Pheng, L. S. (2018). Project management for the built environment: Study notes. Springer.
Sower, V. E. (2011). Essentials of quality with cases and experiential exercises. Wiley.