This review, conducted in a mental health setting, had central goals regarding the data process within the organization. The review began with key informant interviews. Findings from this phase contributed to direct observation, and interviews in the reviews of clinical information services and registration and admission. These specific reviews resulted in detailed findings and associated recommendations aimed at the central data process goals, as well as the clients’ areas of interest regarding the current organization of process, internal capacity, and organizational challenges.

Work Flow Analysis for a Community Health Centre

A team conducted a workflow analysis aimed at facilitating change to current clinical administrative systems. This project took place in a highly complex setting, where client privacy must be sensitively respected.  As well, the client must remain consistent with best practice in their clinical service areas. A redesign of the administrative structure was presented in text and visual format, and supported by quantitative results from work flow studies and in-depth key informant interviews.

Integrated Health Service Plans and Community Engagement Strategies – An Initial Review

Participated in the review conducted for the 14 Ontario LHINs by  MC Mac-Niven Consulting. This was an independent comparison and assessment of each organization’s community engagement strategies and their initial Integrated Health Services Plans. The MC MacNiven report  provided general recommendations, and  a comparative analysis of information presented across the 14 LHINs. The report also identifies opportunities to improve processes across the system.

Future of Healthcare in Canada

This is a massive opinion leader study based on in-depth personal interviews with 80 of the most influential people in healthcare today, as nominated by their peers. Participants include deputy ministers, academics, hospital executives, healthcare practitioners and other qualified parties. The aim is to identify how healthcare will develop over the next 5-10 years and why this will happen. Royal Bank of Canada and Manulife Financial are sponsoring the work. The study includes a special report on funding & financing issues for RBC, as well as a special report on insurance & benefits for Manulife Financial. Link to Overview of Findings.

Review & Future Plans for Quality and Utilization Management Programs

The Quality and Utilization Management Program at a large community hospital was felt to be an important influence on patient care management processes. It has been cited as a benchmark program for external facilities as an example of successful approaches to managing resources and patient access to hospital services. In light of the changes within the hospital and in the external community, a project was initiated to conduct a review to determine future plans for this program within the hospital.
Through consultation with various internal stakeholders, various goals were identified for the review. A confidential, semi-structured interview process was utilized with all stakeholder groups. The final report was structured around the goals, identified common themes and specific key concerns identified in the review process, and included recommendations regarding new structures, adapted processes, and valued elements to retain. Click here to see a Brief Overview.

Patient Registration, Booking and Registry Project

The Brondesbury Group produced a report, documenting their findings of the Registration, Booking and Bed Registry environment review in a large multi-site community hospital. The report included suggested recommendations for improvement and supporting business cases as well as implementation plans.
The objective of this project was to gain a complete and thorough understanding of the processes and workflows within the Registration, Booking, and Bed Registry environments, such that the efficiencies and inefficiencies were clearly understood and documented. The review involved in-depth analysis of staff and process at both the larger facilities and a sample of community based clinics. Click here to see a Brief Overview.

Using Decision Support Feedback for Care Management Planning

A clinical team in a large teaching hospital had excellent decision support information to support their ongoing clinical and utilization management. An initial meeting with the core team members set the goals and framework for their ongoing process. This was followed by the facilitation of an initial full team meeting. Team members were supported in the important steps of depersonalizing the message, and working step by step in isolating key information to guide the selection of areas of success and challenge. An action plan from that meeting was provided, and the team continued the meeting process independently.

Decision Support Framework for a Multi-Site Community Hospital

A large multi-site community hospital used a stakeholder driven process to identify key areas to support with a decision support department. The framework built on skills of data analysis from health records, patient care management from utilization management and pathways processes, and program evaluation processes to support both ongoing hospital program development and the formative evaluation and development of the new department. Challenges included meeting the needs of administrators for decision support when data were not yet available, and developing ways of collecting and communicating information about the data flow, the data message, target patient groups, and summary messages.

Maintenance Program for Utilization Management Process

In addition to daily patient acuity review activities, strategies for targeting patient groups for rotating audits were developed. Feedback processes to physicians at both individual and group level were developed and adapted as the nature of utilization challenges changed due to the impact of the program. A training program in utilization management for patient care facilitators was also developed. The program was based on a scan of the organization for enablers and blocks, as well as the strategic understanding of the organizations issues and goals, industry and government standards and benchmarks. A gap analysis was used as a starting point in planning content. Finally, the development and delivery of both self-learning material and workshops on “ALC” (Alternated Level of Care), addressed strategic utilization issues where knowledge gaps were identified.