Tips for effectively managing a hospital's operations

Establishing a hospital is only half the job done; managing it efficiently is the next herculean task. Being healthcare consultants with hospital operations management as one of the cores areas of focus, we bring to you some essential and often side-lined elements for effectively managing a hospital’s operations.

Align Hospital's vision with its operations - Every hospital, or for that matter every organization, is the outcome of a vision. More often, than not, amid running an institution, the objective of its being is lost. Thus, the organization loses its focus and becomes part of the rat-race of business. Therefore, it is essential to align the hospital operations management team with the mission and vision of the establishment. This is true for a hospital as well. Each hospital strives to achieve different objectives, be it providing maximum patient delight or achieving excellent clinical outcomes or ensuring optimum infection control or facilitating maximum charitable treatment, or all the above. It is important to clearly identify these objectives and inculcate their importance in the staff. The entire hospital, as one unit, can then work towards achieving these objectives and meeting the vision of their institute.

Create champions amongst staff - Leadership is also bringing out the full potential of your team. Honing key employees to become champions in their respective departments is a strategy that every hospital operations management team must adopt. This includes equipping the champions to handle tricky situations arising in their department. An OPD manager who can calm waiting patients at the time of a specialist’s no-show or an IPD manager who can ensure that minimum time is taken for discharge act as fire-fighters for the administrator. It is the hospital management’s responsibility to ensure clear segregation of roles and responsibilities and to create an atmosphere conducive to its staff. This helps improve accountability in personnel and only motivates them towards better performance.

Identify profit and loss centers - A hospital with all its clinical departments performing to their potential is a rare sight. A hospital may have departments that are not significant profit centers but are crucial to support its gamut of services offered. However, if not monitored and regulated well, these services can erode the profit margins considerably. It is necessary for hospitals to identify such under-performing departments and take measures towards elevating their performance.

Develop a patient centric culture - Gone are the days when quality service delivery was not a parameter for selection amongst customers. Hospitals are no different to this trend. With more and more importance being given to patient delight, hospital administrators are often kept on their toes to meet service expectations. It is therefore important to inculcate a culture of “patient first” in the hospital staff in order to ensure optimum patient satisfaction. Reception and care-giving staff is the face of the hospital and needs to be groomed well on presentation, mannerism, communication, and counseling.