Emergency Department Bottleneck Proposal

Learning Team Assignment: Emergency Department Bottleneck Proposal

OPS/HC571

October 7, 2010

Purpose of the Process Improvement Proposal

Delivering quality health care in the United States is a challenge. “For decades the United States health care industry has been operating on its own, largely ignoring emerging factors such as competition, patient safety, skyrocketing health care costs, liability, malpractice insurance costs and DRG for Medicare payments” (Bandyopadhyay & Hayes, 2009, pp. 179). These factors are a big concern for health care organizations because of the enormous monetary pressures that result when the issues are poorly managed. The purpose of the process improvement proposal is to find ways to operate more efficiently while maintaining the standard of quality and safety. Reducing costs and maintaining patient safety and quality stands as the toughest challenge for managers. Better patient outcomes and reduced costs can result from effective process improvement. Middletown Hospital has been receiving numberous complaints regarding the quality of service between the hours of 1800 and 2100. The Middletown Hospital’s chief executive officer (CEO) has requested thathired athis Six Sigma team analyze the root causes of the bottleneck in the emergency department (ED) between the hours of 1800- 2100. The purpose of the process improvement proposal was to find ways to reduce wait time in the ED during peak hours and improve its customer service rating. The analysis will aid in finding solutions to the problem of increased complaints from patients visiting the ED during those peak times.

Process Improvement Method

Health care organizations should follow a structured method so the issue of receiving numerous complaints about long waits for care and service can be analyzed and solutions engineered into the process improvement proposal. Middletown Hospital needs to more broadly consider issues of job structure, values, culture, and...