Tag Archives: Hospital Process Improvement

Architectural Firm Compares PACU Designs with Ease Using MedModel

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A post-anesthesia care unit, PACU, is a vital area within every hospital where patients can recover  from general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, or local anesthesia.

ProModel built a PACU model for an architectural firm to illustrate the difference between two design options.  This was accomplished by placing both designs in one model and having patients follow the exact same patient pattern as they enter the PACUs simultaneously.

The left or A side of the model is a Single Room design and the right or B side is an Open Bay design.  There are the same number of conceptual uses of PACU I beds in each design.  The A side has 27 dual designated pre-op and PACU II rooms.  The B side has 30 rooms, but designates specific rooms for pre-op and specific rooms for PACU II.  Macros were used extensively during the model build to enable rapid changes to the interactions of the patients within the designs.  Real arrival patterns from the hospital were used and entered using an arrival spreadsheet.

PACUComparison

The simulation revealed that the A side showed significant time savings.  Were the ORs to be kept open the same length of time, more patients could be seen on the A side.  The A side also reduced the time spent waiting, after initial arrival for a pre-op bed.  For example, the average wait for pre-op bed on the A side was 3.9 minutes.  On the B side this average was 52.8 minutes.  That’s a pretty significant difference!

These and many other solution videos are available on our YouTube Channel.

If you would like more information about ProModel solutions contact us.

New Year, New Ideas

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2016 brings a new year and it looks to be one of major changes, opportunities and more in the healthcare biz.  Are you ready to try some new methods of improving your medical practice, hospital or clinic?  Simulation has been used by healthcare professionals for over 25 years.  Because of our years of experience in the Healthcare industry, ProModel has assembled a collection of demonstration models that quickly show you ways to simulate that you may never have considered.

Our first demo model is a simple one,  A Clinical Access Time Model. This model demonstrates the ability to model parking lots and access times for patients.  It is a very basic model which shows the capabilities of ProModel’s MedModel Simulation tool.

Stay tuned over the next couple of blogs and we will share other MedModel demos with you.  Below is a list of the many simulations to come.

  1. Appointment Routine
  2. Use of Independent Arrivals
  3. California City Planning ER & Other Services
  4. Radiology Clinic with Costing Features
  5. Day Surgery
  6. Emergency Department
  7. Emergency Departments with Scenarios
  8. Comparing Defibrilators
  9. Hospital
  10. Eye Clinic
  11. Generic Lab
  12. General Hospital ICU Comparison
  13. Managed Care
  14. Nursing Unit
  15. Operating Room Suite
  16. Pediatric Clinic
  17. Pharmacy
  18. Radiology Clinic
  19. Retaining an Exam Room
  20. Urology Clinic
  21. Womans Diagnostic Clinic
  22. X Ray Clinic

These and many other solution videos are available on our YouTube Channel.

If you would like more information about ProModel solutions contact us.

 

Managing Patient Flow

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Hospitals across the country have realized the value of performance excellence teams and process improvement tools.  Healthcare has reached the point where it is absolutely critical to learn how to do more with less.  How do you improve patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes while becoming more efficient?  Using what has already been learned within the manufacturing industry is a great way to start.  Even though hospital care is quite different from manufacturing, there are still many techniques and tools that can be shared.  Using these proven manufacturing operations management techniques was also a focus at this year’s Patient Flow Summit. http://patientflowsummit.com/

ProModel has been successfully helping to improve manufacturing for over 25 years, so it is no stretch that we can carry that same success into the field of healthcare and have already been doing so with our MedModel technology for several years.

One of our current clients, Carilion Clinic is a network of hospitals, primary and specialty physician practices and services in the state of Virginia. Senior Performance Improvement personnel chose ProModel consultants to help them create a patient flow model to reduce hospital overcrowding and resolve patient flow issues.  In a short E-Book we explain some of the decisions they needed to make and how MedModel helped them to do so:

https://www.promodel.com/products/ebook

If you would like more information about how ProModel can help you make critical decisions about your Healthcare Organization contact us @ 877.333.4499 or HealthcareSolutions@ProModel.com. Also checkout http://www.promodel.com/Solutions/HospitalPatientFlow and http://patientflowstudio.com.

Carilion Ebook graphic

https://www.promodel.com/products/ebook

Healthcare’s Evolution

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Jacqueline Hodge - ProModel Director of Healthcare Initiatives

Jacqueline Hodge – ProModel Director of Healthcare Initiatives

Ever heard the phrase:  “Keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll keep getting what you’re getting”?  My Mom used to say that to me all the time and I still think about it today.  I’ve been in the healthcare industry my entire life and, needless to say, a career that has never had a dull moment.  Change is the only constant in healthcare today.

 Healthcare is a place for those who don’t shy away from change and can embrace new ideas even when they are not popular.  Many of the decisions made in healthcare are based on intuition, gut feelings, experience, and consensus. I’ve been a part of those think tanks and times have changed… information resources have changed…                                                           technology has changed… expectations have changed!

Our hospitals have been tasked to do more with less – who hasn’t heard that right?  Through innovative technologies like simulation, we can use predictive analytics to visualize, analyze, and optimize processes.  We have to identify the bottlenecks in our systems that are affecting patient outcomes, patient wait times, correct bed placement and optimal staffing.  Variability in patient flow through our healthcare systems is an impediment to the cost reductions and improvement of patient safety and quality of care (Litvak et al).

Systems have been slowly adopting the principles learned through lean and six sigma but have slow to adapt to the tools available.  Hospitals have shifted from revenue generating to cost reduction.  Simulation tools are the next step in healthcare’s evolution to impact costs due to healthcare’s unique challenges caused by variability due to competition for patient beds, resources, and patient throughput — all are a part of the ongoing challenge we face to meet expectations for ‘doing more with less”

About Jacqueline Hodge

Jacqueline has had the privilege of being part of the healthcare industry for the past 25 years in Arizona after moving from Nashville, TN.  She has served in numerous roles throughout her healthcare career including medical technologist, business development executive and hospital CEO.

Prior to joining ProModel, Jacqueline was the CEO of Promise Hospital Phoenix where she provided strategic leadership to all clinical operations.  She established and executed goals that directly impacted hospital operations, patient care, physician development and business growth.  Having been a CEO, Jacqueline knows the immeasurable value that simulation technology brings to hospital operations. She was able to make leadership decisions quickly by analyzing internal data in its virtual environment with the ability to focus on both high level strategic initiatives and day to day operational tactics.

At Promise Hospital Jacqueline previously served as their VP of Business Development where she led physician development, contracting, and sales/marketing.  Before her time at Promise, she was the Area Business Director for Kindred Healthcare responsible for 4 hospitals within the Arizona market. Jacqueline also has global pharmaceutical experience in Scientific Affairs and Business Development leadership roles including Bayer Healthcare and Astellas Pharma US.

Jacqueline holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from Murray State University.  She also holds an ASCP Medical Technology Certification from St. Mary’s Hospital, and has worked as a Medical Technologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center at the start of her career.

NEW! ProModel’s Patient Flow Solution:

http://patientflowstudio.com/

ProModel Healthcare Solutions:

http://www.promodel.com/Industries/Healthcare