MMI 404 Health Care Operations
Key Artifacts:
Syllabus
Hospital Organization Analysis: Pekin Hospital
Group Project: Radiology Outsourcing Proposal
Syllabus
Hospital Organization Analysis: Pekin Hospital
Group Project: Radiology Outsourcing Proposal
MMI 408 Medical Technology Acquisition
Reflection
Learning Goals:
· Acquire a working knowledge of the core operations of hospital organizations
· Develop an understanding of information technology within hospital operations
· Equip students with the critical thinking skills required to analyze and improve hospital operations
· Evaluate the role of the management team and the Board of Directors
I was feeling good going into MMI 404 Health Care Operations class because of my experience with my organization. As a floor nurse, I had the opportunity to interact with Clinical Services, Nursing Services, Human Resources, Materials Management, Guest Services and Information Services. Finance Management I knew, was responsible for budgeting and maybe acquiring other facilities but that was about it. What I soon found out was that there are other aspects involved in the operations of hospital organizations which I did not know about. Integral to Nursing and Clinical Services was to achieve above average ratings in clinical performance measurements and to deliver care in a safe, effective, timely and coordinated manner. Now I understand why the Nursing leaders were very anal when it came to documentation and ensuring that the staffs were following the nursing guidelines when delivering patient care.
Physician Organizations impact hospital operations particularly when it comes to quality performance. Once I moved from floor nursing to working in a managed care setting, I used to wonder how two physician groups under the same healthcare organization would have varying results when it comes to quality performance. This class helped me understand that it is easier to get employed physicians to comply with certain rules as opposed to independent physicians who are not employed and whose income does not particularly depend on the hospital. I also learned the importance of physician champions who are instrumental in getting those independent physicians to ensure compliance in quality performance. I could not figure out why each of our medical group needed a Medical Director when we already have Physician Health Organization (PHO) Directors in place. Then it dawned on me, physicians are more likely to listen to somebody whom they could identify as one of them, someone whom they perceive as being in the trenches with them. What I thought was unnecessary spending was actually a great business move!
I thought Information Technology is only involved with the Help Desk. Once again, I was wrong. IT is entrenched in all aspect of the hospital operations, from the performance dashboards to the physician portals. Clinical Services need IT for the Electronic Health Records (EHR), for the Admission, Transfer and Discharge (ADT), Patient/Staff Scheduling, Pharmacy and Laboratory Systems and so much more. Finance needs IT for Budgeting and the Patient Billing System.
Our first assignment in MMI 404 involved looking up the Board of Directors for a hospital and what part of the community they come from. I chose to look up Pekin Hospital in downstate Illinois. I was surprised to find out that the Board of Directors are not paid by the hospital for their service. They are mostly civic and business leaders, who are very active in their community. As Board Members, they are responsible for ensuring the quality of care, funds allocation, property and other affairs of the hospital.
Our group project involved submitting a proposal to the Board of Directors to outsource our hospital’s Radiology Department. To justify our proposal, we presented the current state of the Radiology Department (poor quality and unreliable equipment) and what our desired future state would be (advanced technology with no need for large capital purchases). This project taught me how to prepare when presenting to the Board. From finding out what the demand is to considering the output and productivity, to costs involved. Presenting our proposal to the Board gave me an idea of how it would feel if I was actually doing the proposal in real life.
For MMI 408, our group composed of Barry Coleman, Theresa McVeigh, Leigh Moyer and I were assigned a case where the Board of Directors a hospital wanted a redesigned website and a portal to be competitive with the other hospitals in the area. I have never been involved in an exercise with this magnitude at work, so for me, this was fun and exciting. Our Statement of Work detailed what we were looking for in a website which included the dates interested parties would submit their bids. The Request for Proposals reviewed and collated all the bids submitted. Our Vendor Selection looked at three vendors that we felt were meeting our criteria. We then picked the best one we thought would create a website representative of the hospital’s mission and vision as well as embody our needs. We then had to break into two groups for the negotiation piece with one side acting as the vendor and the other side representing the hospital. This part was terrifying because I was not prepared to do the negotiating alone. Unfortunately my partner got stuck at work without audio capability. The back and forth between Barry, Theresa and I was very interesting. There were some requirements from the contract that each side had to compromise or agree to change. The negotiation never turned nasty. In the end, I felt it was a win-win situation for both sides when the contract was finalized.
I have to say, I learned a lot from this class. I may not be able put my negotiation skills (“going to the balcony”) to use at work anytime soon, but I sure could use it with my teenagers. I may not be putting together a Statement of Work, Request for Proposal or Vendor Selection but at least I know what to expect when the situation presents itself. What I have learned from this class and the previous classes before it provide me with a solid foundation to face what is out there in the real world.
· Acquire a working knowledge of the core operations of hospital organizations
· Develop an understanding of information technology within hospital operations
· Equip students with the critical thinking skills required to analyze and improve hospital operations
· Evaluate the role of the management team and the Board of Directors
I was feeling good going into MMI 404 Health Care Operations class because of my experience with my organization. As a floor nurse, I had the opportunity to interact with Clinical Services, Nursing Services, Human Resources, Materials Management, Guest Services and Information Services. Finance Management I knew, was responsible for budgeting and maybe acquiring other facilities but that was about it. What I soon found out was that there are other aspects involved in the operations of hospital organizations which I did not know about. Integral to Nursing and Clinical Services was to achieve above average ratings in clinical performance measurements and to deliver care in a safe, effective, timely and coordinated manner. Now I understand why the Nursing leaders were very anal when it came to documentation and ensuring that the staffs were following the nursing guidelines when delivering patient care.
Physician Organizations impact hospital operations particularly when it comes to quality performance. Once I moved from floor nursing to working in a managed care setting, I used to wonder how two physician groups under the same healthcare organization would have varying results when it comes to quality performance. This class helped me understand that it is easier to get employed physicians to comply with certain rules as opposed to independent physicians who are not employed and whose income does not particularly depend on the hospital. I also learned the importance of physician champions who are instrumental in getting those independent physicians to ensure compliance in quality performance. I could not figure out why each of our medical group needed a Medical Director when we already have Physician Health Organization (PHO) Directors in place. Then it dawned on me, physicians are more likely to listen to somebody whom they could identify as one of them, someone whom they perceive as being in the trenches with them. What I thought was unnecessary spending was actually a great business move!
I thought Information Technology is only involved with the Help Desk. Once again, I was wrong. IT is entrenched in all aspect of the hospital operations, from the performance dashboards to the physician portals. Clinical Services need IT for the Electronic Health Records (EHR), for the Admission, Transfer and Discharge (ADT), Patient/Staff Scheduling, Pharmacy and Laboratory Systems and so much more. Finance needs IT for Budgeting and the Patient Billing System.
Our first assignment in MMI 404 involved looking up the Board of Directors for a hospital and what part of the community they come from. I chose to look up Pekin Hospital in downstate Illinois. I was surprised to find out that the Board of Directors are not paid by the hospital for their service. They are mostly civic and business leaders, who are very active in their community. As Board Members, they are responsible for ensuring the quality of care, funds allocation, property and other affairs of the hospital.
Our group project involved submitting a proposal to the Board of Directors to outsource our hospital’s Radiology Department. To justify our proposal, we presented the current state of the Radiology Department (poor quality and unreliable equipment) and what our desired future state would be (advanced technology with no need for large capital purchases). This project taught me how to prepare when presenting to the Board. From finding out what the demand is to considering the output and productivity, to costs involved. Presenting our proposal to the Board gave me an idea of how it would feel if I was actually doing the proposal in real life.
For MMI 408, our group composed of Barry Coleman, Theresa McVeigh, Leigh Moyer and I were assigned a case where the Board of Directors a hospital wanted a redesigned website and a portal to be competitive with the other hospitals in the area. I have never been involved in an exercise with this magnitude at work, so for me, this was fun and exciting. Our Statement of Work detailed what we were looking for in a website which included the dates interested parties would submit their bids. The Request for Proposals reviewed and collated all the bids submitted. Our Vendor Selection looked at three vendors that we felt were meeting our criteria. We then picked the best one we thought would create a website representative of the hospital’s mission and vision as well as embody our needs. We then had to break into two groups for the negotiation piece with one side acting as the vendor and the other side representing the hospital. This part was terrifying because I was not prepared to do the negotiating alone. Unfortunately my partner got stuck at work without audio capability. The back and forth between Barry, Theresa and I was very interesting. There were some requirements from the contract that each side had to compromise or agree to change. The negotiation never turned nasty. In the end, I felt it was a win-win situation for both sides when the contract was finalized.
I have to say, I learned a lot from this class. I may not be able put my negotiation skills (“going to the balcony”) to use at work anytime soon, but I sure could use it with my teenagers. I may not be putting together a Statement of Work, Request for Proposal or Vendor Selection but at least I know what to expect when the situation presents itself. What I have learned from this class and the previous classes before it provide me with a solid foundation to face what is out there in the real world.
