Total Quality Management Tools and Project Strategies for Electronic Health Record Transition Essay

Health Care Regulation Compliance and Quality Management

Company management might adopt total quality management to emphasize that the organization’s strategy is focused on quality, not quantity. By doing this, administrators emphasize the importance of teamwork, constant improvement, and patient satisfaction. Because the implementation of total quality management requires time and a long-term strategy to produce outcomes, there must be a high level of employee participation. If the manager can set reachable, practical goals, it is a continuous process that can significantly increase the team’s productivity and effectiveness.

I want to monitor the quality of my work using tools like a checklist and a Pareto chart. A checklist is a tool for gathering information and automatically organizing it to make it easier to use the data later on; an example of a checklist is shown in Figure 1 (Admin, 2023). Checklists are particularly successful if the data for later analysis is gathered by directly measuring variables.

The degree (frequency) of a problem’s influence on the result is ranked using Pareto charts; an example of a Pareto diagram is shown in Figure 2 (NHS, n.d). Each tool, namely, the Pareto chart and the quality checklist, can be used in various ways. For example, the quality checklist can inform internal policies and processes for managers who want to ensure nothing is left out of the conversation.

Organizational structure decision-making is similarly addressed through a checklist by ensuring each party is considered when a new framework is considered. The Pareto chart is utilized in internal policies and processes, informing by determining the areas that require coverage the most. Additionally, structure and decision-making are addressed by identifying the aspects that are most likely to require interventions.

Measuring and Managing Performance During EHR Transition

Transitioning to a new EHR system is a complex process. However, tracking the progress can be efficiently addressed by measuring and managing performance during the transition. Needless to say, this would facilitate understanding whether the nurses and physicians utilizing the system can effectively use it daily.

One of the tools that can be applied in assessing the outcomes is HR analytics (Bondarouk et al., 2021). Similarly, health outcomes can be evaluated to determine whether the new EHR is well-implemented and leads to successful organizational changes. The measures applied in evaluating the team and the organization are reported as similar on certain levels (Harrison, 2016). However, in practice, assessing the effectiveness of implementing the new health record system is linked to the organization and management of the activities of individual HR employees.

Monitoring all EHR transition aspects is crucial for cost management, corporate growth, and competitiveness. An excellent strategy for measuring performance is to review it regularly. An evaluation mechanism is required to increase the effectiveness of future performance. The hospital administration can use it to report on how successfully the health, patient-centeredness, and employee satisfaction goals are met. Figure 3 illustrates a dashboard as a visual representation of HR effectiveness, which can be applied to nurses and other hospital personnel with different variables (Human resources dashboard examples, n.d).

Workflow and Project Management for EHR Implementation

It is not uncommon to employ the specific technique of Jack Phillips, an American expert in human resources management, when determining return on investment. Figure 4 shows one of Phillips’ five algorithms for calculating the effectiveness of training nurses and physicians using the new EHR system (Jack Phillips Roi, 2023).

1. Training costs divided by operating costs represent the estimated investment in the HR department.
2. Training investment valuation is calculated as follows: HR costs/employee count.
3. Absenteeism rate equals absenteeism plus the number of sudden employee resignations.
4. The percentage of nurses and physicians who are satisfied with their jobs is known as the satisfaction index. It is based on survey or questionnaire methodology.
5. This criterion defines the organization’s unity and consent. It is determined using statistical data on productivity and an analysis of labor productivity.

When employing this strategy, the effectiveness of the HER system training is assessed against comparable information from other hospitals. A survey will be administered to implement the evaluation. The survey is conducted in confidence, and after the data processing, the hospitals receive the aggregate statistics that may be compared to their own expertly chosen indicators (Harrison, 2016). This approach is utilized to satisfy regulatory criteria for good health and enhance business success.

Benchmarking, in its turn, is looking for, analyzing, and implementing best-in-class (analogous) healthcare technologies, standards, and working practices into practical operations. Internal benchmarking involves contrasting the effectiveness of related roles inside the same organization. The performance of the nurses, for example, can be compared as an illustration of internal benchmarking. Comparing the performance of different healthcare facilities that provide services to patients is how external benchmarking is done. This type of activity is governed by a large number of ethical and legal rules that must be observed in order not to descend into espionage.

Needless to say, benchmarking techniques are used to comply with healthcare regulations and improve organizational performance. On the one hand, they are applied to ensure that each nurse and physician ensures patient safety, as mentioned in the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act, by determining whether all guidelines are followed. On the other hand, benchmarking is applied to determine the departments that do not reach the necessary level of efficiency in care provision. The following plan can be applied to implement benchmarking for performance to be measured during the EHR transition:

• Measuring the time required to complete certain patient cases and comparing it to previous variables, such as the time needed to fill in health records
• Measuring the number of patients treated daily and comparing it with the same variable measured before EHR transitions
• Measuring patient satisfaction and comparing it to past variables
• Measuring nurses’ self-reported satisfaction and comparing it to the same variable before EHR transition.

Concepts such as business process modeling and floating diagrams will help transition to the new EHR system. When established, workflow enables the organization of data in a way that is both clear and repeatable. Seven phases make up an efficient workflow, broadly broken down into the three steps of planning, execution, and analysis.

• Planning:
  • Coming up with ideas and learning facts.
  • Getting requests.
  • Prioritizing and allocating resources.
• Execution:
  • Development and analysis.
  • Progress monitoring.
• Analysis:
  • Peacemaking.
  • Reporting.

The team or unit level is where workflows have the most effect. When appropriately used, workflows give employees the clarity they require to complete tasks more quickly. An effective workflow can be developed for time-limited tasks (such as performing CPR) and objectives, as well as for routine activities and work that is always relevant (such as administering medications and checking patient vitals).

I can assess the organization’s performance using business process mapping and suggest adjustments to raise the team’s effectiveness. Business process models (BPMs), business process diagrams, and business flow diagrams are other names for business process maps. These models cover the who, what, where, when, why, and how of each phase in the process. Process maps can be created in a wide variety of formats.

Charts for Business Process Modelling (BPM) can be implemented to manage the transition to a new EHR. This framework represents numerous tasks using a collection of symbols in a fixed language. They differ slightly from typical symbols in other graphical or procedural languages.

An example of a business process modeling diagram is shown in Figure 5 (Wojno, 2023). It supports internal processes, policies, and organizational structure decision-making by illustrating key processes within the healthcare facility. Hence, administrators can optimize the elements to reach the hospital’s health, satisfaction, and safety objectives during the transition to the new electronic health record system.

Similar in purpose to a process flowchart, floating diagrams use columns to divide the steps into the teams or persons who carry them out. They are also referred to as deployment flowcharts; an example of a floating chart is shown in Figure 6 (Sun., 2020). Floating diagrams are applied to support policies and decision-making by comparing minimal and maximum variables during the transition to the new system. For example, they can illustrate the difference in the number of patients assisted before and during the transition to establish specific trends.

A team’s efforts to solve an issue are better coordinated through project management. For instance, the hospital implements a new inpatient treatment option. It starts by planning the future resources and considering how they can best serve patients. This is project management: the facility has a problem, solves it through planning and assigning work, and then assesses the final result.

In 2020, the Institute of Project Management provided evidence of the value of project management (Harrison, 2016). It was determined that the likelihood of failure at the launch of a new service is twofold in the absence of competent management. Additionally, according to experts, inadequate project management procedures waste 11.4% of the resources used by the unit (Harrison, 2016).

Project Management Techniques for EHR Implementation

Waterfall and SCRUM are the two project management techniques I plan to employ. The cascade technique, also known as the classical method, is a method of working that takes a linear approach and divides the job into numerous phases. After finishing one stage, the squad starts the next. The process follows: the project manager gathers the customer’s requirements and wants; develops a project; implements it; tests it; addresses any issues; and then re-implements it in the company.

The waterfall methodology is applied when working on lengthy, complicated projects that cannot be finished in one phase. Figure 7 highlights the elements included in the tool (Waterfall Methodology, 2019). The technique can be applied to ensure regulatory compliance by breaking down each activity required to implement the EHR. Compartmentalizing the activities will generate an understanding of potential gaps that need to be addressed to comply with hospital, state, and federal healthcare guidelines, such as ensuring data safety.

Scrum is a methodology for managing agile projects that aids teams in organizing and controlling their work by a set of values, principles, and practices. Figure 8 illustrates the components of the said methodology (What is scrum methodology? & scrum project management, 2023). Scrum is particularly effective in ensuring regulatory compliance as it unites the different departments within the healthcare facility. For example, the IT, outpatient, inpatient, dietary, and medical record departments must adhere to the transition to a new health record system. By implementing Scrum, all teams will be confident that regulations are followed on various levels despite impaired communication.

Reference

Admin. (2023). 11+ quality checklist examples & samples in PDF. Examples. Web.

Bondarouk, T., & Roeleveld, B. (2019). Exploring electronic HRM: Management fashion or fad. In H. Ruël (Ed.), The Sage Handbook of Human Resource Management (Vol. 2, pp. 271–290). SAGE.

Harrison, J. P. (2016). Essentials of Strategic Planning in Healthcare (Gateway to Healthcare Management).

Human resources dashboard examples (n.d.). Web.

Jack Phillips Roi. Collidu. (2023). Web.

NHS. (n.d.). NHS choices. Web.

Sun. (2020). How to create a floating column chart in Excel? Web.

Waterfall methodology. IONOS Digital Guide. (2019). Web.

What is scrum methodology? & scrum project management. Nimblework. (2023). Web.

Wojno, R. (2023). The Complete Guide to Business Process Modeling (BPM). Monday. Web.