Intermountain Healthcare Essay

Continuous betterment in fictional character and productivity processes is essential for whatsoever business that wants to be profitable but more so for Health interest organizations due to the constant changing nature of their practice. The philosophy of continuous improvement is captured in the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle proposed by W. Edwards Deming (Fitzsimmons et. Al. , 2013). The three principles that form the foundation for Demings teaching are Customer satisfaction, focussing by Facts, and Respect for people.Health care deliin truth must focus on satisfying endurings needs and this principle must be incorporated into the mind of every employee of a health care organization. scientific thinking (collecting and statistically analyzing selective training) must also be merged with administrative analysis before decisions are made by the quality improvement teams. For quality improvement to be established in an organization, there must be mutual respect amongst employe es where everybodys subjects on upward(a) processes are solicited. By implementing these principles, the mood of higher quality could lead to lower cost, can be manifested.How well is Intermountain Health Care performing? From the case study, intermountain Health care is performing very well. As of 2001, the intermountain healthcare (IHC) Health plan was the largest in Utah which covered about 460,000 individuals and a market share of 40%. The closest competitor existence Blue Cross and Blue Shield, covered 425,000 individuals. IHC started with fifteen hospitals in 1975 and after 27 years grew it to 22 hospitals, 25 health centers and over 70 outpatients clinics all across Utah and Southeastern Idaho.IHC is a vertically integrated Health care organization that has won many top awards in the industry. In 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, Intermountain health care was ranked No. 1 (among nearly 600 labeld) integrated healthcare systems in the U. S. by Modern Healthcare powder sto re and the Verispan research firm. The rankings measured efficiency, talk cost and quality of care. As of 2013, Intermountain Healthcare is internationally recognized, has a nonprofit system of 22 hospitals, a Medical Group with more than 185 physician clinics, and an interact health insurance company, SelectHealth.It currently has 33,000 employees serving patients and plan members in Utah and Southeastern Idaho. Below is a slant of other awards that IHC has received as a system Hospitals & Health Networks recognized Intermountain Healthcare as one of Health Cares Most Wired 2013 in the nation. This was the fourteenth year Intermountain has been listed. Forbes magazine named Intermountain Healthcare to its list of 21 Most Admired Companies Making IT a Competitive Advantage in 2013.American College of Medical caliber gave the Institutional Quality Leadership Award to Intermountain Healthcare, the sole recipient of this award in 2013, for Intermountain longstanding commitment to c linical quality programs and innovations in healthcare delivery. The Gallup Organization again presented Intermountain Healthcare with its Great Workplace Award for 2013 Intermountain Healthcare ranked No. 3 overall in the U. S. and No. 1 in the western U. S. on the 2012 list of the nations Top 100 Integrated Health Systems compiled by IMS Health and Modern Healthcare magazine.National Research Corporation presented a 2012/2013 Consumer weft Award to Intermountain Healthcare for its hospitals, clinics, and business units having been selected by locally served consumers as having the best quality and image. What is Intermountains approach to the management of health care delivery? Intermountain uses clinical integration as its approach to healthcare delivery. This involves both an organizational restructuring as well as the use of different set of tools (mainly technological tools).With this approach of healthcare delivery, both the administrative and medical rung (physicians, nurs es and pharmacist) collaborate to implement the perfect system of gathering, storing, and making accessible medical data on each patient. Analyzing this data gathered enables the medical team to create protocols or use decision support tools that focus on improving medical intervention for each patient as well as removing inefficiencies from their service process. Its core aim was to establish quality and extend full management accountability to IHCs Clinical Function.IHC health services was divided into four areas Clinical conditions, clinical support services, service quality and administrative support processes. IHC also uses Demings PDCA Cycle and Lean table service to ensure continuous quality improvement. Why does Intermountain do it this way? Intermountain tries to continually improve its Quality improvement process by adopting the PDCA cycle. They plan by selecting clinical problems for Hospital based procedures. These processes are documented and data collected. By the top managers brainstorming, they are able to reach the root causes of the problems.The Do in the PDCA cycle is utilize to implement solutions or processes to solve the Clinical problems on a Trail basis. (The implementation process is monitored and documented). The Check in the PDCA cycle is used to review and evaluate the outcomes of implementing the solution. The Act in the PDCA cycle helps the company to reflect and act on the learning experience. The changes in the processes that were successful are standardized and communicated to the employees. IHC also uses a biannual advanced Training program in Health care Delivery Improvement (ATP) to come out with best practice protocols.Here, they use the lean proportionality empowering those who do the work in continuous improvement or human development which is a very important part of the lean process. Since the ideas are generated by the employees themselves, there is a lot of motivation to implement it. Why dont all heath care deliv ery organizations do this? The implementation of information technology systems like Health evaluation through Logical processing system (HELP) and Electronic medical (EMR) are very expensive. The cost of training the staff and maintenance of these systems can be very expensive.Some health care delivery organizations also see the clinical integration system as a loss of traditional physician autonomy, prestige, power and income. Some health care organizations also enjoy having inefficiencies in their systems so that they can exploit unsuspecting patients. We go to the hospital now and are requested to do all kinds of unnecessary lab tests, just to increase our medical bills. Conclusion Intermountain has adopted the strategy of improving continuously by adopting the PDCA cycle and it seems to be working for them since they are the largest Healthcare providers in Utah and Southeastern Idaho.Its clinical integration approach to delivering care has resulted in the company winning numero us awards. The incorporation of information technology plays a crucial role in the quality improvement of their services. The incorporation of Demings idea that Higher quality could lead to lower cost, has given the IHC Health plan a competitive edge over other insurers in Utah. References Fitzsimmons, J. A. , Fitzsimmons, M. J. , & Bordoloi, S. K. (2014). Service Management Operations, Strategy, Information Technology. New York, NY McGraw-Hill/Irwin. http//en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermountain_Healthcare http//intermountainhealthcare. org/about/overview/awards/Pages/home. aspx http//www. beckershospitalreview. com/strategic-planning/back-to-basics-understanding-the-5-performance-dimensions-of-lean-in-healthcare. html Bohmer, R. M. J. , Edmondson, A. C. , & Feldman, L. R. (2013). Intermountain Health Care. Boston, MA Harvard Business School Publication Roger, R. (2008). Commentary Intermountain Healthcare. High Performing Healthcare Systems Delivering Quality by Design. 179-184. Retr ieved from http//www. longwoods. com/content/20147