Question

These are some steps operations managers can take to begin the process of improvement and change in their organizations. By applying their knowledge, they can achieve better results quickly. These steps are:

1-Learn as much as possible about the organization,

2-develop a list of the high-priority problems that it faces.

3-Innovate and challenge the status quo.

4-Comprehensively analyze and improve everything, using a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (MECE) approach.

5-Always look for analytical or quantitative approaches to problems. Measure everything important, graphically, in scorecards.

Consider something within your (dental office) that could be improved. Based upon the five steps listed above, how would you go about making a change in your organization?

Answer 1

The dental office has been facing certain issues which are vital for providing high class service and ensuring high degree of customer satisfaction. Being only super speciality dental facility in the region, it faces the issues in patient management who come in large numbers and wait for their turn for as long as four hours. The customer communication and maintaining of patient records has been so far conducted in the traditional way, but the swelling numbers of patients now call for a change.

The electronic data management and technology enabled CRM and patient management system are key to address the issues. The technology section has limited capability, and the current resources are not sufficient to address the changes.The organisation has enough financial capability to build IT infrastructure to initiate the change.

The steps involved in establishing the IT enabled integrated management system that takes care of patient communication, data management, maintaining confidentiality, patient scheduling and appointments and othe related functions.

(a) Recruitment of the key management personnel who will conceptualise, construct and manage the system.

(b) Identifiaction of the industry partners having experience and expertise in installing and managing such systems. Chosing the right partner.

(c) Identifying the areas of improvement. Creating the matrixes indicating current performance measures by analysing the data on waiting time, complaints, missed communications, missed procedures, customer issues, incidents of data breach or communication gaps etc. in quantifiable form. Define the expected performance measures after implementation of plan.

(c) Preparing a project plan for the work with timelines, budget, responsibilities, deliverables etc. Seeking necessary approvals.

(d) Execution of the project. Periodic monitoring and communication.

(e) Analysis of results.

The improved performance measures after change will be evaluated against a number of factors like ROI, customer satisfaction, improvement in service levels etc.