The client’s perspective
As a leading regional healthcare provider began implementation of its long-term performance strategy, it realized there was an opportunity to leverage additional support to optimize care delivery and operations.
The Performance Improvement (PI) team leads and supports initiatives aligned to the performance strategy across the organization’s hospitals, ambulatory care centers, nursing homes, and its health-related businesses. Its work is critical; it is the execution arm for the organization’s key transformation initiatives.
In the face of increasing priorities, more responsibilities, and a growing volume of culture transformation initiatives, the PI team brought on Eagle Hill to work alongside its existing team of transformation experts and provide program management in two implementation efforts rolling out system-wide: a new care delivery model (NCDM) and the perioperative (periop) supply chain transformation project.
A new view
Eagle Hill began by supporting the phased rollout of the NCDM – the organization’s self-designed model focusing on putting the patient first and increasing collaboration and communication from all care team providers.
Our team monitored the initial NCDM implementation as it was piloted across the organization’s hospital inpatient units, providing staff training, communications support, and collecting implementation best practices from physician and nurse leaders. We then considered how to best ensure a successful rollout of NCDM in the remaining units. We began by surveying physician and nurse leaders and conducting analysis to identify gaps to refine training materials. Eagle Hill and the PI team rolled the NCDM out to the remaining units leveraging “Train the Trainer” sessions to equip unit leaders with the knowledge and best practices obtained from pilot units. In support of these sessions, our team reviewed participant evaluation scores and feedback to inform subsequent sessions.
Eagle Hill next turned our focus to the periop supply chain transformation pilot. Our team supported the PI team in introducing system-wide tools and methods to drive improvements in three areas: consistency of roles and responsibilities, provision of tools and methods for managing the supply chain, and eliminating redundancies in clinician involvement in select supply chain process.
We began by interviewing hospital staff and conducting on-site observations to gain a full understanding of the periop supply chain process and players. Armed with our new knowledge, we rolled out a staff reorganization that aligned roles and responsibilities to distinct job descriptions consistent across all periop departments. We knew a successful realignment would require working closely with the affected staff to communicate how changes would impact their roles. To this end, we facilitated town halls that allowed people to ask questions in a comfortable environment, and provided training on new responsibilities.
Our team oversaw the introduction of new tools and trainings to improve and ease management of the supply chain process. We established new operating room (OR) procedures and communication channels to improve accuracy and timeliness of the Periop supply chain to reduce the over-involvement of clinicians – allowing them to spend more time focused on their patients. After introducing the new procedures and communication channels, we surveyed OR staff, clinicians and leadership to understand if and how the team was improving. In addition, we systematically monitored department performance metrics to ensure the hospitals had fully sustained the changes.
Unconventional consulting—and breakthrough results
Discipline, collaboration, and flexibility have defined our mutual successes with the PI team across both the NCDM and periop supply chain projects. By focusing on streamlining process and adjusting real-time to address feedback and challenges, the NCDM and periop supply chain initiatives are already seeing results and have moved the organization closer to its goals of improving employee engagement and providing the best patient experience.
Overall, Eagle Hill has supported NCDM Train the Trainer sessions at nine hospitals, training over 300 care providers. Since the sessions began, average evaluation scores have increased 15 percent and now score 3.9 out of 5.0.
Two pilot hospitals have successfully implemented the new periop supply chain process and are already seeing results – at one site, case cart accuracy has improved 20 percent within 30 days and backlog has been reduced to zero in the preference card maintenance process. The average number of case cart supply selection errors per day has decreased 60 percent, allowing clinicians to spend more time focused on their patients.
The periop workforce reorganization now allows leadership to capture performance measurements and provide clear career path progression for staff. Moreover, the team has received feedback from both clinicians and supply chain staff that they feel more empowered by the new processes.
