Improvement Diagnostics

As hospitals navigate through the changing landscape of operational cost reductions, physical and personnel asset management and improved patient care a need emerges for a clear understanding of gaps in operational processes and a plan of action for immediate and long-term improvement.

Upon completion of the department productivity analysis and hospital wide assessments, NXThinking provides detailed analysis reports. These reports are broken down by focus areas:

Operational Enhancement by Department

Feedback and results from departmental and business assessments and research provides a platform for understanding what areas in each department can be improved. NXThinking dives deep to understand the impact of any change and an estimates expected results from improvement measures. The report includes:

Patient experience outcomes
Operational gaps by department and throughout the business
Productivity analysis by department and throughout the business
Profit loss areas
External research results by each area
Recommendation report and action program to improve operations and productivity

Supply Chain Optimization

NXThinking compiles the data and results of all assessments to determine key profit loss areas. Research indicates that the profit loss is exemplified within supply chain activities. Outcomes from questions asked of the physicians, nursing staff and overall personnel such as supply usage, storage, flow of distribution of supplies, inventory turns and many other revealing questions provides data to uncover these inefficiencies and to understand what plans need to be implemented for sustainable improvements.

This report will outline the following:

Findings and analysis from assessments
Inefficiencies in supply management, ordering and distribution
A cost analysis and profits lost due to inefficiencies including where most of the inefficiencies reside
Vendor-partner gaps and waste
External research results
Recommendation on improvement implements by department and overall business with expected results and timeline for change

Administrative Process Improvement

At the frontline of ambulatory care is the administrative staff. Tasked with understanding intake and exit processes, the ever changing world of health insurance processing, coding and reporting of services performed for patient care, billing and tracking these professionals are often inundated with productivity hindering activities.

During the analysis stage of assessments, NXThinking will dig into the core area of administrative activities to uncover tasks that are redundant, can be streamlined or automated or activities that currently have no process but should to enhance productivity. In addition, the data will show personnel adjustments to enhance the workflow for each administrative area.

The Administrative Process Improvements report will outline:

Findings and analysis of administrative activities through each department
Cost analysis of revenue loss resulting from current process including insurance and uninsured impact
Patient impact of current processes
Physical and personnel asset management overview and recommendations
Recommendations of department and business needs, changes and improvement implements

Organization and Personnel Asset Usage Recommendations

Many ambulatory care facilities fail to optimize their existing assets. Often expensive, new equipment is purchased leaving old but usable technologies unused. Physical space remains underutilized or misused. Current personnel can be utilized more effectively along with automated technologies to increase productivity.

(The median ASC rental rate was approximately 27 dollars per square foot, costs inclusive of triple net costs were closer to 32 dollars per square foot. - http://www.beckersasc.com/ambulatory-surgery-center/surgery-center-education/10-benchmarking-statistics-for-ambulatory-surgical-centers.html)

During the assessment phase, NXThinking will track use of current tools and space, and monitor staff capabilities and usage. The report will be inclusive of:

Findings and analysis of physical and personnel asset usage
Data analysis of time inefficiencies and productivity loss within current usage parameters
Cost analysis of current state of usage with areas of profit loss
Staff change recommendation based on data and research
Existing equipment analysis and suggested usage report
Recommendation of improvement implements with expected cost savings review

Public Perception and Marekting Research Results

All assessments provide insights into how your organization is perceived and how trusted your facility is for patient care. In this consumer-driven atmosphere, marketing is as important as ever. More and more ambulatory care facilities are increasing their marketing efforts and are utilizing a wide variety of media to get their specific message out to the public. Additionally, many facilities can be found in the social media arena from Twitter to LinkedIn. Consumers want knowledge and information and are looking everywhere for it.

NXThinking researches your current public position and incorporates a review of competitor facilities in the area. The report will provide:

Overview of your current marketing activities and measurable impact with data support
Insights into competitor marketing activities and influence
Public perception findings
Recommendations of marketing implements to improve market position, public perception and rankings in national reviews