Healthcare
Shift in success factors within the Swiss health care sector
Swiss health care faces great challenges. Compared to international standard, the Swiss health-care system ranks among the best in quality of care but it is simultaneously among the most expensive and complex. Cost increase from 1990 to 2000 was 4.8 % - almost double the growth rate of the gross domestic product.
“DRG” is only one of the subjects those engaged in the health-care system have to deal with but which are going to alter success factors considerably. Managed care, new groupings of medical practitioners, pharmacist networks, hospital chains, etc. are causing a long-term change in the structure of health care.
Realignment to a changed environment is a key for success
Health care needs to face these challenges. Patient identification cards, new billing models, lump compensation and cost reduction are buzzwords which call for continuous transformation. Saving measures required can be achieved only through a strong efficiency increase while simultaneously meeting requirements of continuously rising quality level and improved care.
For healthcare, therefore priority is given to best possible resource utilisation through optimal business processes and the capability to innovate with processes and services offered. Combined with quality improvement and risk minimisation, these compose the essential success factors for optimal positioning in the complex healthcare environment.
HPO has specific experience developing innovative solutions which are favourably accepted by staff members in health care:
- Public and private hospitals
- Health- and accident insurances
Innovation management
Growth-oriented innovation management at a market leader
Industry: Chemical Industry
Client size: Over 8 bn. in sales p.a.
Challanges:
- Large and complex product portfolio lacking transparency
- Frequent overlaps in research and development
- Unexploited synergies
Approach:
- Design of innovation architecture to create transparency
- Identification of synergies
- Identification of overlaps in research & development
Results:
- Development portfolio reassessed and prioritised
- Synergies identified
- Identification of core competencies for successful R&D
- Future opportunities for innovation and technology identified and validated
Business design hospital
Initiation of patient-centered process model
Industry: Healthcare
Key figure: Appr. 700 full-time equivalents, care for 220 beds
Challenges:
- Historically based organisational structure with high complexity
- Not standardised and specific courses of action according to special fields
- Mixture of organisational and medical competences especially for specialists
Approach:
- Design of an optimal patient-oriented process model
- Derivation of the optimal, process-oriented organisation with the help of a process model
- Standardisation and optimisation of leading, core and support processes regarding the interaction with the patient and avoiding interfaces
- Monitoring of the adaptation of the processes in everyday life with the help of balanced score card
Duration:
- 36 months
Results:
- Introduction of the new organisation
- Implementation of high performance processes such as the introduction of case management, professionalisation of an interdisciplinary emergency unit, definition of steps in the treatment in order to reduce the planning and coordination efforts
- Practical attendance of the teams during the implementation of the high performance processes
Dr. Peter Eichenberger Head of St. Claraspital
Thanks to HPO the Claraspital successfully will master challenges of DRG
«Financial pressure on the hospital will increase with the nationwide implementation of cost based lump compensation (DRG). In plain language this means cost per patient distinctively has to be reduced since with DRG cost refund will be replaced by service fee.
We have been looking for a partner with a command of industry expertise necessary in order to support us in turning the organisation fit for DRG. Thanks to the intuitionally clear HPO methodology we were able to implement a process oriented hospital organisation. As a result, patients even more moved to the centre as basis for our success – simultaneous realisation of distinctive cost cuts commonly is not being perceived as contradiction. HPO has been a great help in a persuasive as well as tactful manner to dissolve organically grown organisational structures. Without healthcare expertise of HPO it had not been possible to replace weak interfaces by High Performance processes. And HPO does not lose drive when High Performance Processes need to be implemented».