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Biomedical subjects

W J Leander

Publications and source records attributed to W J Leander.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Highly-effective Steering Teams. Tips for setting them up and keeping them on track.

Not every Steering Team is effective is its role to guide and facilitate the organization through the rigors and towards the rewards of restructuring. To be effective, the first step is to establish a solid platform of appropriate membership, unwavering commitment and clear expectations. The second step is to put in place a process to promote cultural transition and sound decision-making. This process entails role modeling desirable behaviors, spreading a vision of the future, defining performance improvement priorities, establishing an advantageous roll-out plan and--perhaps most importantly--supporting the "owners" of change through boundaries and bogies. Are you setting up a new Steering Team? Is a Steering Team already in place but you want to identify any areas for enhanced effectiveness? Either way, pursuing this platform and process may not avoid or solve all of your problems...but it can go a long way to helping your Steering Team help the rest of the organization through the uncertainties and anxieties of change.

Decision Making, Organizational↗
PubMed1995

Transfer pricing--better decisions for greater savings.

The potential economic benefits of many restructuring initiatives are lost to the uninformed decisions which result from a mismatch between operational and financial systems. Transfer pricing helps eliminate this mismatch. Through it, a restructured center "pays" for all services provided by centralized departments for its patients. In this way, it can be an invaluable tool during and after your restructuring initiative. It helps you create a more cost-effective and beneficial vision of a fully restructured future. It makes setting economic targets for the right-sizing of centralized departments a relatively easy matter. And it will be an essential tool for leaders as they overcome the challenges of tomorrow's marketplace. In short, the higher the priority on economics, the more ongoing value transfer pricing adds to your restructuring initiative.

Accounting↗
PubMed1995

Horizontal versus vertical--two restructuring approaches to the same vision.

In summary, horizontal and vertical restructuring represent two different paths to the same vision. Both require a rock-solid foundation for success. In deciding the best approach for your organization, consider the trade-offs between the cultural ("we versus them") and operational ("to leap or not to leap") challenges associated with each approach. Furthermore, consider the differences in savings streams from these two paths. Then customize a restructuring initiative that best fits your organizational goals and priorities.

Cost Savings↗
PubMed1995

Master patient scheduling. Enhanced continuity as a strategic weapon.

Master patient scheduling can be a strategic weapon for your organization as it battles the pressures posed by a steadily more demanding marketplace. The enhanced continuity offered by master patient scheduling can unlock the power of self-directed teams and collaboration between your organization and physicians. This power, in turn, can help you continuously improve quality and service levels while keeping operating costs under control. Still, implementing master patient scheduling poses challenges. Those who take on these challenges are convinced that continuity is the secret to their future success.

Appointments and Schedules↗
PubMed1994

The fungible facility: constructing an ideal setting for restructuring.

In summary, the ideal facility for a restructured hospital is highly flexible and adaptive. It is fungible. The more fungible, the more it will promote optimal performance in the long-term. Let's face it. Whether you are constructing a new or even launching a major renovation of an existing floor plan, a chance like this doesn't come along every day. For the sake of your restructuring initiative, and your hospital, make the most of it. Don't stop at what the facility should look like--allowing it to be merely the cosmetic by-product of other restructuring action steps. Go for what the facility should be like--giving it an important action step of its own. The Fungible Facility. With this, you'll make the most of that chance!

Architecture↗
PubMed1994

Layered learning. Improved learning through phased education.

If you do have the time and money to put on a "train everyone all at once in every new skill they need" educational program, then by all means, "Go for it!" However, for the rest of us, this traditional approach to education just may make initial implementation of our restructuring designs impractical. For us, Layered Learning comes to the rescue. That's the up-side of Layered Learning. Sooner. Faster. Timelier. Safer. Healthier. Cheaper. A better approach to restructuring education. The challenge of Layered Learning is that it raises restructuring education from just another "to do" on a project plan to a strategic weapon to be carefully structured and put in place. By definition, we will have to make some tough decisions in terms of defining layers and interim designs. Still, more and more hospitals around the country are discovering that Layered Learning can be a powerful ally in their restructuring initiatives. You just can't turn your back on it.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1993

Patient focused care team design. Critical aspects of a cost-effective design strategy.

It is the critical, yet largely unknown aspects of Patient Focused care team design--the "how" of a design process--which make LRMC's "Care Pairs" a ground-breaking innovation rather than just a distinctive-sounding name. Unfortunately, many hospital leaders of Patient Focused Care programs know the "what" of LRMC's "Care Pairs" but very little, if anything, about this "how." To create Patient Focused care teams which are "right" for your own institution, you must quantify the Costs of Continuity, Competency and Compartmentalization and their associated benefits. Without these informed trade-offs, you and your hospital will be forced to live with someone else's Patient Focused care team design. In summary, it is what you don't know about LRMC's "Care Pairs," not what you do know, that is important to your Patient Focused Care program. Hospitals just beginning to implement Patient Focused Care must understand this "how" if they are to design effective care teams which optimize the performance of their initial unit(s) within their unique environments. Hospitals like LRMC with established Patient Focused Care units must also periodically draw upon this "how" or they face the very real danger of having their Patient Focused care team design(s) become outdated, less effective and eventually detrimental. Or, said another way: "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over those who cannot." Mark Twain. "An out-of-date Patient Focused hospital has no advantage over those which remain unrestructured." The PFCA. The three critical aspects of Patient Focused care team design explored in this article are just the tip of the iceberg.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1993

Getting the economic gains where and when you need them most.

Often, even before the vision for the restructured hospital is completed, talk begins about "which area to implement first" and "how many areas to tackle." Certainly, there are many considerations in making these decisions such as, the political mood with physicians and staff, synergy with changes already on the books, areas which are vacant and easily renovated, and more. However, these decisions may limit the alternatives for your Economic Change Strategy. They may even implicitly set it for you. And, as such, they should be taken very seriously because they directly impact the when and how much of your economic gains from restructuring. Want to get the most economic gains from restructuring? Define your Performance, Operational, Cultural and Economic Change Strategies and keep them in sync. And you won't be betting the farm that chance will do that for you.

Cost Savings↗
PubMed1993

Six lessons learned for greater success.

These six lessons learned for greater success with your Patient Focused communications can help keep your cultural change process in sync with your operational change process. Of course, there are other key elements of the former, including: formal Patient Focused educational programs; restructured Human Resources "systems" (e.g., job descriptions and compensation programs); and migration toward greater organizational empowerment and more self-directed work teams. Still, your Patient Focused communications campaign will spearhead the cultural change process. As such, it will have the opportunity to make the very first impact. Basically, your communications can make or break your Patient Focused Care program from Day One. It's up to you--learn the lessons learned by others and your organization may follow the words of Marx rather than those of Brand: "Workers of the world, unite (on behalf of your Patient Focused Care program)!" Karl Marx.p6 "Workers of the world, fan out (in formation against your Patient Focused Care program)!" Stewart Brand.

Communication↗
PubMed1993

Performance indicators. Defining and evolving the "right" measures of restructuring success.

In summary, it is important to define the "right" set of performance indicators to monitor the success of your Patient Focused restructuring program. Keep these indicators to the vital few--those reflecting the hospital's quality, service, environment and economic performance--rather than falling into the potential trap of the trivial many. Be sure to define many of these indicators in the customers' terms, not necessarily your own. Your Patient Focused program will mature across four primary eras--The Vision, The Plan, The Reality and The Journey. Several important aspects of your performance indicators must evolve along with it if they are to facilitate rather than hinder progress. This should happen naturally. However, it is always wise to keep an eye on these evolutions to ensure they aren't stifled by traditional paradigms, lingering biases and lack of attention. Defining and evolving the "right" performance indicators for your Patient Focused Care program will not only provide valid measures of success, but actually contribute to greater success as well!

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed1993

How much do you have to save to make a profit on restructuring?

"I can't afford to restructure my hospital!" The truth is that you may not be able to afford not to restructure! Yes, there are up-front financial investments required to lift your institution to a new level of performance. But these investments can be dwarfed by the returns achieved when more and more of your personnel dollars go to caring for patients, and less and less go to perpetuating the red-tape and bureaucracy which plagues the modern American hospital.

Cost Savings↗
PubMed1993

Getting the most for your education dollar.

Hospitals are spending 33 cents on every dollar for the Patient Focused education of their organizations. By following a few simple guidelines, you can shop smart and get more for your educational dollar. Someone once said, "The greatest learning is through the learning of others." This handful of guidelines represent the collective experiences of hospitals around the country as each strives for an ever more successful yet cost-effective Patient Focused education for their organization. Let their experiences be your best teacher. What about the other 67 cents. In future columns of Dollars and Sense, we will explore ways to help you be a smart shopper of facility renovations, equipment purchases, consulting services, project management and several other categories of typical Patient Focused restructuring expenditures.

Cost Control↗