Why effective transformation starts at the heart of healthcare

“The crisis has been a final wake-up call,” says Dawn Bruce, Philips Services and Solutions Delivery Leader, Canada. It’s time for leaders to prepare strategically and structurally for the new reality that will follow, she says. Employing a change management process in hospital operations and developing a new operating model can quickly build the specific capabilities modern healthcare needs and put in place a roadmap for effective transformation.

As the healthcare sector undergoes rapid change, intensified and accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is increasingly turning to operations to increase its overall efficiencies. According to Eugene Litvak, PhD, of the Institute for Healthcare Optimization at the Boston University Health Policy Institute, “Operating systems have a huge impact on work climate, staffing, financial results, etc., and yet we are trying to change our healthcare delivery system without changing its core operations.”

Litvak goes on to say, “The cost of healthcare delivery is inflated because we do not appropriately apply operations management methodologies.” It’s a compelling observation. Reports indicate that a fifth of healthcare spending gets wasted with administrative complexity accounting for the most – up to $265.5 billion annually – in the United States [1].

Fortunately, quality improvement theory links high-quality care with financial performance and waste reduction [2]. The opportunity, as we see it, is to employ operational management principles and develop a methodology that speaks directly to the nature of healthcare operations.

Operational intelligence is an integrated, service-based healthcare growth model with a focus on behavioral change to connect silos and build relationships to optimize planning, alignment and outcomes. This approach to working together offers cumulative gains, unlocking hard value but also the softer, more people-powered value that is harder to achieve and quantify but delivers significant benefits.

“An operationally intelligent governance model enables both partners to be less transactional and more solution focused,” says Dawn Bruce, Philips Services and Solutions Delivery Leader, Canada.

Operational intelligence harnesses quantifiable change and performance but also focuses on the intangibles that make a big difference such as soft skills, cultivating collaboration and enabling positive behaviors and innovative ways of working. Four examples of how operational intelligence can transform ways of working within a strategic partnership for significant healthcare gains are:

Here are some ways Philips has partnered with healthcare teams to apply and embed innovative operational management and improvement strategies using the Philips Operational Intelligence approach.

In the case of München Klinik, Ultrasound Demand Analysis, led by Philips Managed Technology Services in partnership with the hospital, mapped 24 devices with a savings potential of €851,000, with costs savings from day one.

Mackenzie Health Canada standardized and optimized education services to support staff training for diagnostic imaging. Mackenzie Health had over 30 third-party technology suppliers, and this challenge was exacerbated by a change in hospital sites. A 12-week recurring training cycle was created per department, and staff participated every week.

The same training strategy used for diagnostic imaging was implemented for ultrasound and, in part, patient monitoring. The integrated program has standardized education, removing inconsistencies or variations between vendors and assimilating training content and delivery.

The partnership between Philips and München Klinik focuses on a “needs-based” model of care, designed to address rising costs and reshape the clinic for its future health needs. At one location, a project is underway to redesign workflows to support patients and staff. At another, they're building the radiology department. And an installation of the Philips Intellispace Portal 11 platform has streamlined radiology processes across the health system, allowing faster diagnoses.