Management Consulting In Healthcare Newsletter
Planning for Tomorrow's Success September 2007

Ten Key Lessons for Quality Improvement*

 

#1

 

Quality Improvement Tools Can Work in Healthcare

 
#2
 
Cross-Functional Teams Are Valuable in Improving Healthcare Processes
 

#3

 

Data Useful for Quality Improvement Abound in Healthcare.

 

#4

 

Quality Improvement Measures are Fun to Use

 

#5

 

Costs of Poor Quality are High and Savings Are Within Reach

 

#6 

 

Involving Doctors is Difficult

 

#7

 

Training Needs Arise Early

 

#8

 

Nonclinical processes draw early attention.

 

#9

 

Healthcare Organizations May Need a Broader Definition of Quality.

 

#10

 

In Healthcare as in Industry the Fate of Quality Improvement Is First of All in the Hands of Leaders.

 

*Based on a National Demonstration Project

Quotes of the month...

 

It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.

 
W. Edwards
Deming
 


 

 

Facts are the enemy of truth.

 

Don Quixote - "Man of La Mancha"

STRATEGY FACTS
 
Strategies are rarely executed well.
 
Only 10% of the strategies that are effectively created are effectively implemented.
 
85% of executive teams spend LESS than 1 hour per month discussing strategy.
 
60% of organizations do NOT link money to strategy.
 
95% of the typical workforce does not understand the strategy.
 
-

You must execute well to survive and prosper.

 
What are the signs in your organization?
 
multi signs
 
 
 
 
Greetings!
 
In this third newsletter I would like you to consider using the Baldrige Award criteria as a day-to-day management tool.  If you haven't already done so, go to the Baldrige web site listed below and download their 2007 Health Care Criteria.  You may find it intriguing.  I also put the web address where the past Baldrige winners (and their profiles) are listed. 
 

One more thing... forward this newsletter to others you think might be interested.
 
Thank you.
 
Ken Bast

Now might be the time to inspect your organization's infrastructure.

I-35 Bridge in Minneapolis

The I-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis has engineers and others scrambling to assure the public that the next bridge they cross won't fall down around them and this is very appropriate.  This might also be a good time to inspect the infrastructure of your organization.  Organizational infrastructure, like highway and other infrastructure, generally lacks sex appeal, is thought of as someone else's job and is often under-funded at best. 

 

An organization may have new plans, new strategies, and new managers in place but, if it doesn't have the right people in the right places with the right information available to make key decisions, success is far from assured.  Before charging off to new and un-chartered directions ask whether the basics are covered.  In human resources, are the right people being recruited?  What about retention, wage and salary competitiveness and the effectiveness of the evaluation process?  In finance, are basics like days cash on hand, billing accuracy and paying bills on time being covered?  What about your customers?  Do you really know who your customers are, what they expect from you and what THEY think they are getting?  How do you compare to your competitors when it comes to quality of care and quality of service?  Do you have an organization where all senior managers work as a team toward a common vision? What is that vision? Are board and patient care staff leaders included?

Of course the questions continue into every department.  The idea is not to wait until major failure strikes, rather to take a regular, systematic look inside to create and improve needed systems.  One good starting point is to utilize the multi-level criteria of the Baldrige Award.  For more on the Baldrige see the next article. 

 
Baldrige Award

Baldrige Award Criteria: A Great Management Tool

 

Many people understandably look at the Baldrige as an award process.  The performance criteria established by the Baldrige Award are often used to assess management systems and identify improvement areas.  I would encourage you to consider the Baldrige as a major tool to manage day-to-day operations in any organization.

 

The Baldrige Award was established by the US Congress in 1987 and named after former Secretary of Commerce, Malcolm Baldrige. It aims to promote quality awareness and is based on a weighted score of seven categories of performance criteria.  The Baldrige premise is that all organizations need to perform well in all categories.  The categories (and sub-categories) and the points associated with them are:

 

1 Leadership (120 pts.)

            1.1 Organizational Leadership (70 pts.)

            1.2 Social Responsibility (50 pts.)

2 Strategic Planning (85 pts.)

            2.1 Strategy Development (40 pts.)

            2.2 Strategy Deployment (45 pts.)

3 Customer and Market Focus (85 pts.)

            3.1 Customer and Market Knowledge (40 pts.)

            3.2 Customer Relationships and Satisfaction (45 pts.)

4 Measurement, Analysis, Knowledge Management (90 pts.)

            4.1 Measurement and Analysis of Organizational Performance (45 pts.)

            4.2 Information and Knowledge Management (45 pts.)

5 Human Resource Focus (85 pts.)

            5.1 Work Systems (35 pts.)

            5.2 Employee Learning and Motivation (25 pts.)

            5.3 Employee Well-Being and Satisfaction (25 pts.)

6 Process Management (85 pts.)

            6.1 Value Creation Processes (50 pts.)

            6.2 Support Processes (35 pts.)

7 Business Results (450 pts.)

            7.1 Customer-Focused Results (75 pts.)

            7.2 Product and Service Results (75 pts.)

            7.3 Financial and Market Results (75 pts.)

            7.4 Human Resource Results (75 pts.)

            7.5 Organizational Effectiveness Results (75 pts.)

            7.6 Governance and Social Responsibility Results (75 pts.)

 

The maximum attainable score is 1000. The seven categories of performance model of the Baldridge Award can be used to assess management systems and identify major improvement areas. The model fits well in organizations taking a continuous improvement philosophy.

 

Some organizations are attracted to Baldrige because they are interested in the award while others see it as an opportunity to fine tune systems and learn new approaches.  Either way, a good starting point is, as a management team, to review and study the Health Care Criteria for Performance Excellence (available free from the Baldrige web site) and then carefully use the self assessment tool to identify Opportunities For Improvement (known as OFIs).  It's never too late to start or restart performance improvement.

 

Baldrige Criteria Web Site

 

http://baldrige.nist.gov/HealthCare_Criteria.htm

 

1988-2006 Award Recipients' Contacts and Profiles

http://www.quality.nist.gov/Contacts_Profiles.htm

 

 

Has your organization considered using the Baldrige criteria?  Email me with your thoughts and comments.

Check the Website.
 
www.MgtConsultinginHealthcare.com 
 
Email Me.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 TAKE THIS MONTH'S SURVEY

Use of Baldrige Criteria

http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e25iuqymf5ld65ir/start
 

AUGUST SURVEY RESULTS
 

How often does your management talk about mission?

 

25%

Always - every meeting and publication   

                                        

69%

Sometimes - on special occasions     

                                             

6%

Never                                                                                          

 

COMMENTS

-Missions are defined but people are seldom held accountable for their accomplishment.

-We try to judge or measure new ventures or investments by questioning whether it passes muster within our mission

-The "mission" of the pharmaceutical industry is focused mostly on profits--any patient-centered mission appears to be low on the list of priorities.

 

Does your organization measure mission effectiveness?

19%

Yes - we have well understood and communicated measures    

              

50%

Yes - we have some measures 

                                                        

19%

I have no idea

                                                                          

6%

No - definitely not  

                                                                                 

6%

Other                                                                                           

 

COMMENTS

-We measure the Wrong Things

-Measures are driven by conventional wisdom rather than an analysis of the relationship between different measures and desired outcomes.

-All communicated measures deal with "meeting our numbers" at every level. Employees lose their jobs when they do not continually exceed their numbers.

 

Does your organization have a mentoring program for managers?

17%

Yes - we have a formal process for every manager

                       

50%

Yes - we have an informal approach 

                                    

22%

No - we don't have a mentoring program

                                         

11%

Other                                                                                         

 

COMMENTS

-Mentoring has become a required check box with the assumption that the next line supervisor is the mentor.

-I haven't been told of such a program if one exists.

-We can do much better. We have a tendency to select new managers based on departmental competency, relegating management skill to a lower priority

-Good point. I will have to raise this at the next board meeting.