Overview
Often as leaders we are faced with budgetary constraints. As the leader of a unit or department, you must make financial decisions that impact the quality and safety for your patients and your staff. When issues arise, it is up to you to solve the problem. Problem solving is less successful when it is done in a silo. Choose one of the problem statements and determine how you as the leader will address the situation. How does the budget influence policy development? How can you influence your team to think strategically to come up with creative ways to problem solve? Who are your stakeholders? Who can you collaborate with to solve the problem?
In this discussion, you will choose a problem statement and respond to specific prompts.
Scenarios
Dialysis Discharge Standard Work:
Problem Statement
Currently your hospital is not reimbursed for inpatient hemodialysis (approx. $400/treatment) performed on the day of discharge for chronic hemodialysis patients. A process for deferring medically stable patients to outpatient facilities has been developed and implemented, however, it is inconsistent and tracking success has been difficult to show sustained cost savings.
Biohazardous Waste Reduction:
Problem Statement
The removal of biohazardous waste is 2-4x more expensive than normal waste. Current data shows 50-60% of items designated for biohazardous waste removal are not biohazardous waste. The elevated cost of disposing of these items through biohazard waste removal increases the cost of healthcare for our patients.
System Alarm Intervention:
Problem Statement
Based on recent Patient Safety events, an issue with the cardiac monitoring process has been identified. Patients that require cardiac monitoring (telemetry & hard-wired) are not always recognized and when an issue arises, the notification of the alarm is not consistently heard, seen, or known which causes a delay in medical intervention and puts our patients’ safety at risk. In addition, your organization has a bold goal of achieving 0 serious patient safety events and this work is critical to the organization’s success in eliminating serious safety events. It should be noted that each event that makes its way to litigation costs your organization approximately $1.25MM/case.
Action Items
- Select one of the problem statements in the Overview.
- :
- Explain which cost-analysis model, from your reading, best fits the problem you have selected.
- Explain why you chose the model and share how you would address the situation as the leader.
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
As a medical professor, it is important to not only impart knowledge but also to teach future medical professionals how to approach and solve real-life problems. One such problem is the issue of budget constraints and the impact it has on patient care. In this assignment, we will be choosing one of the problem statements related to budgetary constraints and discussing which cost-analysis model would best fit the situation and how we, as leaders, would address the issue.
Answer:
I have selected the problem statement related to Biohazardous Waste Reduction. In this situation, the cost of removing biohazardous waste is significantly higher than that of normal waste, and a large percentage of items designated for biohazardous waste removal are not actually biohazardous. To address this problem, I would choose the Activity-Based Costing (ABC) model, which assigns the cost of each activity to the products or services that depend on that activity.
By applying the ABC model, we can identify the activities involved in the removal of biohazardous waste, such as labeling, packaging, and transportation. We can then allocate the cost of each activity to the specific items designated for biohazardous waste removal. This way, we can accurately determine the cost of biohazardous waste removal, identify areas of waste, and make necessary adjustments to reduce the cost.
As a leader, I would strategize with my team to ensure that all staff is properly trained on identifying items that require biohazardous waste removal. I would also collaborate with the procurement department to explore more affordable options for biohazardous waste disposal. Moreover, I would encourage my team to think creatively and come up with innovative ideas to reduce the cost of disposing biohazardous waste. Ultimately, the goal would be to provide the best quality of care while minimizing costs for both the hospital and patients.
#Dialysis #Discharge #Standard #Work #Budget #Essay
