Assignment: Productivity Metrics
First + Last name
Walden University
MMHA 6700/DDHA 8000: Healthcare Operations Management
Productivity Metrics
Okes (2013) defined productivity as the effectiveness in attainment of the output while productivity metrics are the attributes utilized in the evaluation of the efficiency in the workplace. Often, organizations assess the productivity of their employees, among other vital processes to eliminate wastage using different productivity metrics. Notably, the parameters enhance the ability to evaluate business performance relative to operations, effective allocation of time and resource as well as the identification of activities weak points. Moreover, productivity metrics increase the capacity of the management to offer feedback on time and consistent with the work progression. Productivity metrics play an important role in assessing the effectiveness of an organization operation leading a corresponding increment in the number of items and services and subsequent profitability of a company. Discussion: Physician Care Services Productivity Case 3 Analysis
Case Scenarios. The scenario involves Physician care services Inc. (PCS), founded as a for-profit enterprise. The facility offers nonemergent care services to clients in the ambulatory medical care located in Alpha and beta centers. Specifically, the organization formed by doctors offers different patient services involving occupational health consumer (involving workplace-related injuries) and private retail customers (for general medical care in exception of OB/GYN). Patient satisfaction lies in the center of the care service provided to the clients, acting as the primary productivity metrics for PCS (Middleboro Casebook, n.d). However, the medical service facility faces several issues, including the waiting time and size of the waiting areas relative to the increasing volume of clients seeking general medical attention in the facility. The decline in revenues —especially on busy days — is another issue of concern facing the facility attributed to physician’s productivity. Discussion: Physician Care Services Productivity Case 3 Analysis
Description of Productivity Metrics. One of the productivity metrics is patient satisfaction, which entails the degree to which the patients are delighted with the rendered care service both in and out of the doctors’ examination rooms. The parameter will evaluate the efficiency of the processes and the entire workflow. Daily revenue is the second productivity metrics that PCS will use to understanding the realized proceeds gained from the care services offered at the facility. The parameter will enhance the evaluation of the physician, whose historical information indicates that the facility recorded fewer revenues on a busy day compared to a slow day. The third productivity metric essential, in this case, is waiting time. The metric will assess the effectiveness of PCS in handling the swelling volumes of patients, especially with the execution of the new era care reforms, such as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The last productivity metric is the number of patients attended by a physician per hour. The parameter will enhance in evaluating the productivity of the doctors and nurse practitioner who are supposed to at least attend to 3 to 4 patients per hour (Middleboro Casebook, n.d). Discussion: Physician Care Services Productivity Case 3 Analysis
Explanation on how to Use the Metrics in Evaluating Productivity. In Assessing the productivity based on the satisfaction of the patient, the facility will collect patient satisfaction data for analysis. The process will involve evaluating the satisfaction level relative to an agreed satisfaction level benchmark, say 90%. As a result, satisfaction level below the set baseline will be considered unsatisfactory, leading to the institution of strategies to improve the satisfaction rating. On the other hand, the daily revenue metric will involve an analysis of the total recorded revenues against the corresponding number of patients attended in that day. In this case, the presence of linear correlation between the number of patients and the recorded income will be the indicator for enhanced productivity of PCS.
Similarly, the facility will collect information regarding the overall service time for a single patient, which will inform the effectiveness of the entire process. Notably, the facility would analyze the recorded patients waiting time using the X-bar charts. In this case, the facility will determine the productivity against the average time of (20 mins), upper, and lower control limits. The process will enhance in evaluating the facility capacity to handle increasing patients’ volumes with the implementation of the new age health care reforms. Notably, under normal situation, it is expected that a patient would take an overall service time of 20 minutes on average (Middleboro Casebook, n.d). The last metric evaluating the effectiveness of the physicians entails the number of patients a doctor attended per hours. Similarly, PCS would collect data on the number of patients a physician and nurse practitioner visit per hour secondary to volumes of patients in a particular hour. In this case, PCS will consider the physician and nurse practitioner efficient if they attend to the recommended range of between 3 and 4 patients in an hour (Middleboro Casebook, n.d). Discussion: Physician Care Services Productivity Case 3 Analysis
Ways the data will assist in evaluating the Success Potential of the PCS in the New Era of Care Reform. Measuring various productivity metrics involves gathering varying form of information. The collected data will enhance the assessment of PCS potential for success in the implementation of new health reforms. Firstly, the data such as service waiting turnaround time and the number of patients attended by a physician and a nurse practitioner per hour will assist in understanding the potential facility success in handling a high volume of patient per day. Notably, health reforms, for instance, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, would result in a surge in patients seeking service at PCS using the Medicaid/Medicare cover provided under the new reforms. As a result, there is a need to use data to establish the potential success of the facility in new care reforms in terms of handling a large number of patients per day. Discussion: Physician Care Services Productivity Case 3 Analysis
Secondly, patient satisfaction data is another vital piece of information that will assist in determining the possible success of the facility in the onset of new health reform. PCS is a for-profit corporation; thus, patient satisfaction is imperative in determining the number of clients that seek services in the facility. Notably, an increase in patient satisfaction leads to a growth in client volume associated with a corresponding increment of revenue and subsequent profitability. Notably, an increase in profit is the primary benchmark for productivity of an enterprise that associates with the effectiveness of a company’s operations. Discussion: Physician Care Services Productivity Case 3 Analysis
References
Middleboro Casebook, (n.d). Case 3: Physician care services Inc.
Okes, D. (2013). Performance Metrics : The Levers for Process Management. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Quality Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=806689&site=ehost-live