Executive Summary
Northwest Hospital and Medical Centre provides different services to patients. Since its inception in 1960, the hospital has undergone different transformation and is a leading innovator in technological advancements in medicine. However, the organization lacks effective systems for timely delivery of services. In this case, patients feel that they spend a lot of time waiting to see a doctor and they do not receive any updates from the checks done. This requires a system in place to help guide patients and receptionists on a timeline for a day. This requires combined effort from the management, the staff and the physician in coming up with a proper ETA system to guide patients.
Description of the organization
Northwest Hospital Medical Centre located in 1550 N 115th Street in Washington State Seattle provides health care services for patients with different ailments. The hospital has 281 beds. The hospital has 1600 employees ranging from physicians to clerks. This non-profit organization tax-exempt entity serves people with different ailments. The hospital begun providing services to the local community in 1960 in a 33-arce piece of land purchased by Community Memorial hospital in 1949. In the beginning, the hospital focused on provision of health services for local patients. In 1965, the hospital obtained their first radioisotope scanner that would aid in provision of better services. They turned their focus to rehabilitative services in the late 1960s after the purchase of the scanner. During this time they opened different rehabilitative departments including the inhalation therapy department, stroke center and hearing disorders departments. The hospital was the first one in Seattle to provide a birth control clinic that ensured mothers had a single unit for labor, delivery services, recovery and then provision of postpartum care in 1970.
Later on in the 1970s, the emergency department increased the number of physicians serving patients. The nuclear medicine department came into existence in 1971. In 1977, the hospital established Northwest Hospital Foundation. The first ultra-sound installation took place in 1985 after physicians in the hospital installed a radioactive seed to treat prostate cancer. The hospital also pioneered the first gamma knife used for treating brain tumors without surgical procedures. In 2001, the emergency department underwent further expansion to pioneer technological innovations like the DynaCT angiogram innovated in 2005. The robotic surgery innovation took place in 2007. In the same year, the hospital begun the use of electronic medical records to make it easier to save and retrieve patients’ medical data. Digital mammography also took place in the year 2007. There has been further expansion in the surgical facility to accommodate more patients that were before. The beam cancer center opened in 2011 (Stanhope & Lancaster 2012).The hospital merged with University of Washington medicine to enable it increase it abilities in service provision.
Needs Assessment
There are many things that make an institution lacking in certain aspects. In the case of Northwest hospital and medical center, service delivery by the personnel and how they go about their duties is an issue that patients and others depending on crucial services complain about. This is more so for the staff at the front desk or the admin staff. Patients require information and updates regarding their health status once they get to a hospital. However, patients in this case do not get the services they desire because the staffs do not have sufficient training on how to deal with clients. Data from patient reviews shows that most of the patients are not satisfied with the treatment they get from the receptionists. Patients expect to go in to see a doctor as soon as they get to the hospital; however, in the case of Northwest hospital and medical center, this is not the case (Lee 2009). Patients complain that they take up to two hours after their arrival and measurement of BP and pulse check before they even get an update on their results. The hospital lacks and Estimated Time of Arrival system hence patients do not know how long they have to wait before they can go see a doctor. It is also vital to keep patients updated on their health data especially when patients have undergone various tests (Edwards 2009).
Intervention
It is vital for the organization to deal with the problem in its service delivery. Patients need to visit a facility that will deliver services as they expect. In this case, the hospital needs to come up with an ETA system to determine how long patients have to wait before they can see a doctor. This is possible if the management comes up with an estimated time patients take up when they see a doctor. It is possible to determine the average time a patient takes when they go to see a doctor. However, with this organization, receptionists and other medical personnel do not know how long it will take a patient to see a doctor. Customer care support i vital for the organization. This is possible if the management comes up with means of providing patients with regular information regarding their health status and when they can see a doctor. Providing clear expectations upfront or updating patients can go a long way in solving this problem (Barr & Dowding 2012).
This is not healthy for the hospital as patients may die of neglect while waiting in line to see a doctor. With an ETA system in place, patients can determine the time they have to spend waiting for the doctor. This will also go a long way in helping employees stick to the timeline provided. This will improve efficiency in service delivery. Training staff on how to deliver services and treat patient with respect is vital for customer satisfaction. How employees address patients provides a basis for patients to judge the service delivery and quality of care provided within the hospital. Therefore, training employees on proper service delivery and communication with patients is crucial for patients to feel satisfied and trust in the abilities of the employees to provide quality care.
Justification of proposed intervention
People expect to get quality services once they go to a health facility. These expectations come from different aspect and this should act as guidance as an organization comes up with different work policies. People have a timeline and expectations regarding different things including heath provision. Respect is an important attribute that people expect ad they go about their daily chores. It is therefore, important for personnel to maintain high levels of respect as they go about their duties. Culturally people expect people to act in a certain way depending on situation at hand. In this case, when one goes to a health facility they know what they hope to get, respect being an ultimate attribute especially from the nurses and other staff. Therefore, when one does not receive what they expect, then they may not trust in the abilities of doctors and nurses to treat them properly.
Everyone has a right to access health services and if one feels that he or she is not getting the services as provided for in the constitution or the human rights convention, then he or she may feel cheated. This may force on to go to another health facility in search of better service delivery. Waiting in line for an unknown period is not the best way for people to receive services they are entitled to. People have a right to accessible, affordable healthcare and if they do not feel like they can access the health care they so desire once they get to a health facility, then it becomes a different matter (Mason, Leavitt & Chaffee 2012). This can cost the organization a lot of money due to inefficiency in service delivery.
Implementation plan
During the implementation of the plan, different stakeholders have to be taken into consideration including the management, the physicians and the customers. The management has a crucial role in this case, because they are tasked with provision of smooth and effective service delivery. They have to come up with policies that ensure patients receive quality and timely care. In this case, they have to ensure personnel undergo training on proper communication and service delivery. Physicians have a role to play in determining an approximate time they need to examine patients. This will help in determining an appropriate ETA system to guide customers on the time they have to spend as they wait for the doctor. Customers determine the success of an organization because they are the main target. Patients can contribute their views on how they want service delivered. Here patients can provide information about service delivery by filling sample questionnaires about the quality of service delivery. The staffs have a role to play as they relate to the customers and by communicating properly as they act as intermediaries between the physicians and the patients.
Marketing communication plan
It is important to keep everyone up to date on how the intervention is going on. In this case, this is possible by keeping records of patient’s satisfaction. Prior the intervention, regular meetings will take place to keep everyone up to date on what is going on and the plans underway. The same applies during the intervention period. Keeping open communication channels and regular meetings is the key element. E-mails and memos will go a long way in keeping everyone up to date (Alemi & Gustafson 2007).
Measurement effectiveness of the intervention
Customer satisfaction will be an ultimate measure on the effectiveness of the intervention. Open communication between patients and employees will also determine how patients feel about the changes in service delivery. Having patients give feedback on how they feel about service delivery and communication with employees will give a pre-view of what is happening between the patients and the staff.
Conclusion
Service delivery is vital for any organization. Customers need to feel that the services they get meet their expectations. Therefore, having a proper system in place that will ensure patients feel satisfied of the quality of services provided is vital for the success of the organization. By putting measures into place to ensure that patient’s feel satisfied with the quality of service delivery, the hospital will be building a good name for itself.
Reference
Alemi, F., & Gustafson, D. H. (2007). Decision analysis for healthcare managers. Chicago:
Health Administration Press.
Barr, J., & Dowding, L. (2012). Leadership in health care (2nd ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE.
Edwards, A. (2009). Shared decision-making in health care achieving evidence-based patient
choice (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lee, R. H. (2009). Economics for healthcare managers (2nd ed.). Chicago: Health
Administration Press.
Mason, D. J., Leavitt, J. K., & Chaffee, M. W. (2012). Policy & politics in nursing and health
care (6th ed.). St. Louis, Mo.: Elsevier/Saunders.
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2012). Public health nursing: population-centered health care in
the community (8th ed.). Maryland Heights, Mo.: Elsevier Mosby.
