BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING AT THE HOSPITALS: A CASE STUDY AT SINGAPORE HOSPITAL
Arun Kumar and Linet Ozdamar School of Mechanical & Production Engineering Nanyang Technological University 50 Nanyang Avenue, SINGAPORE-639798 Email: makumar@ntu.edu.sg
KEYWORDS Business process reengineering, Healthcare. ABSTRACT As health care costs increase, there is a need for healthcare service providers to look for ways to contain costs and to achieve a higher efficiency at their operating facilities without sacrificing quality. This paper studies a case in employing business process reengineering techniques on one aspect of a health care service – surgical work. The system is simulated focusing on the processes that contribute to the effective
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There is a lack of health care professionals in Singapore. The local doctor-to-patient ratio was 140 doctors for every 100,000 of the population for the year 2000. According to OECD data, the average ratios for the decade of the '90s for Australia and New Zealand were 240 and 218 respectively (Wee 2002). Business Process Reengineering in Healthcare Managers use process reengineering methods to discover the best processes for performing work, and that these processes be reengineered to optimize productivity (Weicher et al. 1995). Hammer and Champy (1993) state that BPR refers to the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality and speed. Business processes are sequences and combinations of activities that deliver value to a customer (Coulson-Thomas 1996). A core business process usually creates value by the capabilities it gives the company for competitiveness. A limited number of such core business processes can be identified in any company, and enhancing those processes can lead to business improvement. Over the last few years, the reengineering concept has evolved from a "radical change" to account for the contextual realism (Caron et al. 1994, Earl 1995). Davenport and Short (1990) prescribe a five-step approach to BPR. They argue that process reengineering requires taking a broader view of both IT and business activity, and of the
2. Amir Bonakdar, T. W. (2013). Transformative Influence of Business Processes on the Business Model: Classifying the State of the Practice in the Software Industry. Hawaii: Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.
Currently, independent business units, whether those are specialists, family doctors, hospitals, or clinics, service different customers. While business units may have shared clients, the lack of standard data collection processes essentially make each patient who has not previously visited the business unit a “new” patient. There is a highly decentralized structure, and each business unit benefits from the local autonomy in deciding how to treat customers and collect data. The business units individually control the entire process design and IS decisions are done at the business unit
Business process reengineering (BPR) is the analysis and redesign of workflow within and between enterprises. The purpose of BPR is to make all business processes the best-in-class. Michael Hammer and James Champy published their best-selling book, reengineering the Corporation, where the authors promoted the idea of radically redesigning the enterprise by wiping the slate clean. New information technology, including the ability for people throughout the supply chain to communicate in real time and the ability for controls and monitoring to be instituted throughout the supply chain, is often a driver of process reengineering within the organization. By reengineering workflows with better quality controls within the production process, companies can more easily uncover issues within the supply chain at their source. Through breaking down the processes of the business and organizing around outcomes, companies can uncover and remove inefficiencies in their processes. In the insurance industry, claims typically took 31 days to
In the case study on “Job Redesign for Expanded HIM Functions” Elizabeth Laymen outlines how the ever rapidly changing healthcare field has changed the demand for the professionals in the Healthcare Information Services Departments to increase both their physical and mental output within their daily routines. This type of increased demand is not reasonable on a daily basis and puts professionals under excessive stress. As a result Elizabeth Layden wrote this article with steps and recommendations for job redesign to support and assist leaders in the field on implementing effective change in their working environments for both themselves and employees.
In the introduction section of each module, a statement emphasizing the importance of processes and workflow modeling knowledge for healthcare informaticians was declared, as such knowledge and skills are required to ensure high-quality performance. As per Sharp and McDermott (2009), ‘Workflow Modeling’ is to clearly illustrate
Similarly, if DCH could assign more number of patients to each nurse to improve the productivity of internal business quadrant, but that would give more scope to errors –a tradeoff that is totally unacceptable. Development and implementation of a BSC is a labor intensive task, since it is a methodology that is consensus driven. To make the BSC work, DCH started a pilot project, initiated a top-down reorganization and procedural work redesign, and developed a customized information system. The most challenging task for DCH however was to convince its employees to work in new ways. Doctors and managers initially viewed the move to organize them into teams as one that would cause their powerbase to shift. Almost all employees complained that a systematic approach to cost control was just like “cookbook medicine” (Meliones, 2000). It needed a lot of persuasion, reassurance, and persistence to get all employees at DCH to buy into the new process.
The evolution of HCISs has paralleled the organizational evolution of the healthcare industry itself. The earliest HCISs were largely focused on the automation of specific functions within hospitals including, initially, patient registration and billing. The justification for these systems was relatively straightforward since large mainframe computers were easily capable of performing the largely clerical tasks associated with tracking patients and sending out bills. In the 1960s and 1970s, additional functions were added to the financial systems as hospitals realized the benefits of installing computer systems to support ancillary departments such as radiology, the pharmacy, and the laboratories. Collectively these disparate functional systems have become known as hospital information systems (HISs), even though in most cases they remain quite separate not only in function but in terms of computer hardware, operating systems, and even programming languages. The lack of connectivity among these various
In defining the selection and acquisition framework for the healthcare information system under consideration, the creation of an Information technologies (IT) strategic plan is first needed. By definition, an IT strategic plan defines in very specific terms how a proposed IT system will align with and contribute to the strategic plans, objectives and goals of a healthcare organization (Davis, Adams, 2007). The process of selecting and acquiring the healthcare information system under development needs to take into account change management, process-based, systems-integration and lifetime cost of ownership considerations. In addition to these factors, a balanced scorecard of system performance and its contribution to each department in the organization also needs to be assessed (Chow, Ganulin, Haddad, Williamson, 1998). Healthcare system planning and evaluation has progressed beyond the basics of defining functional performance aspects of software towards the inclusion and encompassing of how roles in a healthcare enterprise can be made more efficient from their use (Spil, LeRouge, Trimmer, Wiggins, 2011). The process of selecting and acquiring the information system then must be designed to take into account stakeholder's needs while also delivering financially significant value to the enterprise over time (Davis, Adams, 2007). The intent of this analysis is to define how the
The conveyance of healthcare is progressively mind boggling; along these lines, the related work processes are likewise progressively perplexing. As the utilization of innovation ends up plainly basic in all parts of patient care, seeing how the work streams inside and between forms is basic. The accomplishment of data innovation ventures isn't exclusively reliant on the innovation, yet additionally on the general population and the A business procedure can be characterized as an accumulation of interrelated work errands started in light of an occasion that accomplishes a particular outcome for a client of the procedure (Sharp and McDermott 2009). A procedure must client centered; repetition, delay, and remain blunder must be stayed away from. The objective of work process examination is business process overhaul.
Processes are steps that a business takes every day to reach its goals. Thus, the more efficient the processes are, the more efficient the business will be. Efficient processes can help a business maintain a competitive advantage, and can assist with lowering operations costs. Global acceptance of the internet has provided technological advancements in how software, hardware, data, and networks are implemented in businesses. For example, there are Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, Business Process Management (BPM), Document Management Systems (DMS) and advances in network management. In addition, these advances allow businesses to share information more quickly, automate processes, and reduce operation costs. Further, advances can
The last few years have witnessed big changes in the business climate, and business process improvement and continuous improvement (CI) efforts have certainly seen their share of change. I talk with companies every day and, without a doubt, there has been a fundamental shift in thought on how to best make meaningful process improvement happen.
Healthcare is under constant reassessment because of daily innovation. With this assessment comes the realization that one process has better outcomes than another indicating the need for change and change. Since change is only as good as the planning that goes into it leaders in nursing must be prepared to manage change properly and effectively. The purpose of this paper is to identify an inefficiency in an organization and develop a change management plan in accordance with the organization’s mission, vision, and values. This change is based on principles from Lewin’s theory of change and diffusion of innovation with clear steps to follow involving all of those affected by the change.
The aspects considering to apply a redesign in the Health Care Industry as the organizational achievement needs to be four different levels, as the re-engineering process when reestablishing the idea of the organization to work more efficient as restructuring the organization chart, such a reporting line or the compositions of functional units. The purpose of restructuring is to increase organizational efficiency and cost effectiveness.
In the book Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution, Michael Hammer and James Champy discuss a concept that he originated known as “reengineering”. The process of reengineering involves coming up with new ideas, specifically processes, which are technologically advanced and extremely effective in completing corporate work. Companies must think ahead so that they will not only succeed today, but also set the rules for future business. A critical part of reengineering involves ignoring the current procedures and structures that have been set by a company and replacing them with more efficient processes. In creating these new processes, companies must focus on the needs and wants of consumers. This will ensure customer satisfaction, which is a key part of maintaining a competitive advantage in today’s world.
Business must endlessly update their systems to keep up with the changes that occurs with their business process. Business processes are continually trying to find many ways to accomplish new and shifting goals for the business. New or shifting goals, such as changing the responsible for a current business process, or combining more than one responsible into one can be difficult and needs a clear understanding of multi-tiered systems and the business processes itself. The absence of connection among requirement and employment can lead to problems in recognizing the suitable program which must be changed to further increase the worthiness of a system in response to the new goals. Unfortunately, these changes can lead to errors and can make take longer than expected.