Question

Imagine you are the supervisor of the health information management (HIM) department in a large outpatient clinic. This department manages patient records. Complaints about your department are becoming more frequent and intense than in the past. Some clinic employees have complained that the HIM department takes too long to retrieve patient records. Others have expressed dismay over the rudeness of HIM staff. You decide to talk about these problems with employees throughout the clinic.

The clinic’s receptionists respond to you defensively. They tell you that the HIM staff won’t answer the phone and that they want some backup when they are busy with patients. You talk to the HIM staff and find their stories are just as negative. They say they are being charged with more responsibilities but have no additional help. They also complain that the receptionists transfer calls that they should be handling. The clinic’s nurses are also upset with the HIM staff; they claim the department does not help them locate patient charts, causing long wait times for patients. The clinic’s physicians say they cannot assume additional tasks to alleviate the situation because their days are already chaotic.

1.   What improvement tool would you use to identify all possible reasons for the increase in complaints about the HIM department?

2.   What improvement tool would you use to gather data to confirm the reasons for the complaints about the HIM department?

Answer 1

1.The sorts of complaints a HIM department are most likely to receive concern privacy and security of health care information, e.g. a breach of confidentiality.

- A fish-bone diagram is an improvement tool which can be used to identify all the possible reasons for rise in complaints in the department.

Analysis could also be used to determine the root cause of the complaints this can help to Discover the possible root cause for the issue and list down to the issues to be resolved.

To find out why there is an increase in complaints, an investigation into the nature of the complaints must be undertaken which starts with an accurate recording of complaints in a log book. Some clinic employees have complained that the HIM department takes too long to retrieve patient records. Others have expressed dismay over the rudeness of HIM staff.

2) The most effective tool will be the cause and effect model. Cause and Effect charts identifies the methods, environment, people and equipment to possibly find a result to the problem, which is the ultimate goal in this situation.

Evaluating processes a company or department performs and needs to improve is an important task that managers must undertake continuously. Using the right tools to improve business outcomes is critical. Failure to routinely evaluate, monitor, and improve daily operational processes can negatively affect both internal and external stakeholders.