West Bloomfield Hospital Case
The implementation of Six Sigma is expected to improve the functioning of different entities and contribute to the enhanced final outcomes. For this reason, the process becomes crucial for the healthcare sector as it is one of the most important elements of any modern community. In this regard, there are numerous attempts to improve the functioning of various health care units by implementing the major conceptions of Six Sigma approach.
For instance, the case of West Bloomfield Hospital could be considered a good example how the usage of several aspects of the method could contribute to the enhanced results. First of all, the given care unit is a part of the larger Henry Ford healthcare system characterized by a specific approach to the delivery of services and satisfaction of patients basic needs. However, there are also several problems like the quality of the suggested services, financial difficulties, etc. (“Just Four CBA 100 Day Workouts” 1) In this regard, trying to eliminate the problematic issue, the hospital engaged in the change process.
First of all, the focus on quality waste, patient experience, quality staffing, and leadership could be observed (“Just Four CBA 100 Day Workouts” 2). The alteration of the perspective on these issues was expected to improve the quality of the suggested services and help specialists to perform their duties at a high level (“Just Four CBA 100 Day Workouts” 2).
Besides, these actions could be considered in terms of Six Sigma as they presupposed the improved monitoring of the main aspects of the units functioning and discovery of the most problematic aspects that should be altered to attain improved results. For this reason, West Bloomfield Hospital managed to improve its functioning and attain better results using the main ideas suggested by Six Sigma and implementing them to its functioning.
Hill County Memorial Case
Another example that demonstrates the great potential of the suggested approach is the Hill County Memorials case. It is a non-tax facility that provides medical services to residents of Fredericksburg community. The unit was rewarded because of its excellent functioning and high levels of customers satisfaction. However, there were also several problems that demanded the implementation of a new approach to eliminate stress factors.
For instance, in accordance with the Affordable Care Act, all organizations functioning in the given sphere should try to align the constant improvement of patient satisfaction (“Baldrige Award Winner Selects CBA” 1). For Hill County Memorial it means that different skills will be required to improve the overall efficiency and attract customers by the improved quality of suggested services. In this regard, the method to achieve the goal was needed. First of all, a significant performance improvement was crucial for the hospital. That is why specialists were trained to admit variations in quality staffing standards and eliminate them (“Baldrige Award Winner Selects CBA” 1).
Second, caregivers were assisted in their focusing on patients needs and improvement of their experience scores (“Baldrige Award Winner Selects CBA” 2). Finally, the monitoring of the overall hospital efficiency was also introduced. These steps had the great positive effect on the unit. Hill Country Memorial became saved $2,5 million (“Baldrige Award Winner Selects CBA” 3). Moreover, a significant improvement of the quality of suggested services was admitted by patients.
It is possible to conclude that Six Sigmas implementation was successful as the improved monitoring helped to detect problematic areas and decrease costs while employees acquired new opportunities to work with patients exploring new models and guaranteeing high satisfaction levels. The given task was crucial for the further hospitals evolution and contributed to its further development.
Macomb Hospital Case
The third example of the successful Six Sigma implementation is related to Macomb Hospitals functioning. The given facility experienced a number of serious challenges that had to be solved to attract patients and guarantee the improved treatment results. Such areas as the quality of performance and suggested services, low competitiveness, patients moving to other clinics, etc. needed to be altered greatly (“CBA 100 Day Workouts Deliver 50% Reduction” 1).
For this reason, the clinic also engaged in the change process applying Six Sigma and strategies similar to the above-mentioned ones. First of all, the sphere of patients experience was touched upon by specialists. An innovative approach to working with patients was suggested to decrease the level of their refusals and increase the overall attractiveness of the unit. Moreover, the feeling of urgency and unique importance of the performed tasks were also cultivated to enhance the commitment and guarantee that all members of the staff will be able to work at the appropriate level. Finally, considering Macomb Hospitals difficulties with facilities management, the altered approach to its management was suggested.
These alterations contributed to the significant changes and the great attractiveness of the hospital. Moreover, analyzing the changes in terms of the Six Sigmas approach, we could admit that the focus on the achievement of stable and predictable process results (“CBA 100 Day Workouts Deliver 50% Reduction” 3). In other words, Macomb Hospital implemented the model of its gradual and continuous development that could help to define the problem and create the most appropriate solution at the first stages.
In this regard, the usage of Six Sigma obviously contributed to the reconsideration of the main development strategy accepted by the company and creation of new patterns that encompass the most efficient methods to work with patients and guarantee their satisfaction with the suggested services.
Comparison
Three above-mentioned cases demonstrate the unique efficiency of Six Sigmas approach and the high probability of success in case it is applied to the modern settings. Moreover, there is also a great potential for the further implementation of the given method in the modern healthcare sector. One could also note an outstanding flexibility of this method as it could be applied to different situations no matter how sophisticated they are.
One of the main reasons for such an increased flexibility is the universal character of the main aspects Six Sigma. It presupposes discovery of the problem, its assessment, analysis, improvement, and control. For this reason, the approach could easily be applied to different situations. As for the above-mentioned cases, the character of difficulties that these medical units experience is different.
However, the implementation of Six Sigma along with the strategic approaches suggested by specialists helped to eliminate the majority of problematic issues and attain success by achieving the main goals and guaranteeing the further evolution of these facilities. Furthermore, the consideration of the areas of change became possible mainly due to the exploration of LEAN Six Sigma and collaborative efforts of all team members who wanted to reconsider the functioning of the health care unit and attain success.
The basic elements of the method could also be applied to the healthcare sector because of its focus on the improved results and gradual evolution of different entities. It is crucial for the functioning of different hospitals that should be ready to engage in the process to increase the level of patients satisfaction.
Nevertheless, if to compare these three case studies, several factors should be mentioned. First, all hospitals have different problems. West Bloomfield hospital suffers from leadership turnover, financial problems, poor care coordination, and the lack of patients and their families inclusion. Hill County Memorial experience hardships related to the low efficiency, lack of changes, leaders inability to manage team members, and poor cooperation.
Finally, Macomb Hospital has problems with poor patient experience scores, poor communication, facilities management, etc. It becomes obvious that the character of these problems is different; however, they all demand a complex approach to eliminate the roots that resulted in the appearance of such problematic issues. In this regard, the exploration of Six Sigma approach seems the most appropriate solution.
As for the first hospital, West Bloomfield engaged in 100-Day workouts created to improve the knowledge of leaders in the most crucial areas and stimulate them to engage in different activities. Moreover, managers were asked to record some ideas related to the improvement of the facilitys functioning and some their implementation within the next 100 days. Additionally, every workout required managers to create and implement changes every month.
This contributed to the cultivation of independence and leadership qualities. Additionally, it also helped to improve coordination by engaging all leaders in this sort of activity. One can understand that this approach presupposed the usage of such elements of Six Sigma as constant monitoring and quality improvement via the enhanced collaboration and new opportunities for a leader.
In Hill Countys memorial case another approach was explored. The companys executives were engaged to participate in activities that will help to improve the accountability of the unit as well as its efficiency. Moreover, leaders were also encouraged to cultivate changes and implement new methods to manage the hospital and its workers. However, this implementation was monitored by the responsible team that tried to attain success and restructure the units functioning.
Finally, as for the Macomb Hospital, a new approach is used. Considering the fact that poor patient experience is one of the main difficulties the hospital faces at the moment, it is suggested to improve the cooperation between a caregiver and an individual by explaining the basic strategies that could help to improve the given aspect and monitoring the alterations attained under the impact of the new strategies.
From these cases, it becomes obvious that Six Sigma approach is explored in different ways in these hospitals. However, at the same time, there are many similarities. First of all, the monitoring and detection of the most problematic issues become the central task of teams responsible for the change. In all above-mentioned hospitals, workers were suggested to perform a certain kind of activity and under the supervision of a specialist who would be able to provide a piece of advice.
Health workers were also asked to offer their ideas about how the functioning of a certain hospital could be improved. The given similarity along with divergence in approaches implemented to real life conditions comes from the flexibility and variability of Six Sigma as the method to improve the functioning of a certain organization. The universal character of the major concerns of this method results in its enhanced ability to satisfy the most diverse needs and provide specialists with a wide range of tools to be explored to attain a significant improvement.
Works Cited
“Baldrige Award Winner Selects CBA to Maintain Highest Patient Satisfaction Ratings and Sees $1.8M in Implemented Savings to Boot.” Caldwell Butler. Web.
“CBA 100 Day Workouts Deliver 50% Reduction in Wait Times for Appointments and Strengthen Patient Engagement.” Caldwell Butler. Web.
“Just Four CBA 100 Day Workouts Deliver Over 1,200 Completed Changes, Some with 98% CFO Approval.” Caldwell Butler. Web.