Developing "an integrated business process management and lean"model for improving quality of services in teaching hospitals

Abstract

Introduction: Rapid great changes in technology specially the increasing role of information technology and computer systems in managing the organizations has changed the management strategies and organization leadership, as a result, in the new world, managing organizations by old strategies has become impossible. Unanimous information systems, new approaches to services, managing the relationship with the customers and the others, all, have one common management feature that is the success in all these systems is based on process perspective. The present study aims at determining the effect of applying an adopted model from business process management (BPM) to modify the discharging hospitalized patients' process in teaching Hospitals. Materials and Methods: The present study is an action research with no control group which its aim is improvement of discharging hospitalized patient's process in teaching hospital. The variables such as waiting period, moving, stocking, and commuting time that the researchers use them for identifying wastes. For collecting data, we used focus group to which help us to determination of prioritize, modeling, and to identify the process problems and find appropriate solutions for them. In the last step, to collect functional indexes, we used observation method and time measurement criteria. Findings: In the last step, after filling out the improvements recommendation's form, the researchers started implementing the suggestions and use the indicators to evaluate the achieved changes. The results of the survey showed that reform implemented the process of discharging hospitalized patients, led to decrease the waiting period to 60 min that this period was 90 before intervention, and waiting time we could save is 30 min in waiting time period. Our result show 17 min decrease in commuting time, before intervention it take 20 min, and after that its time change to 3 min. The last variable was moving time that was reduced from 15 min to 5 min and we could save 10 min in this process. Discussion and Conclusion: Applying this mixed approach, the researchers implemented the recommended focus group solutions and show its effects via significant indexes changes. After that they made model for process to identify the problems or recognize the nonvalue added activities. After implementing the project, a significant improvement was noticed in waiting period, commuting and moving time that waste for relocating patients or documents.