Juran Blog

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is beneficial in the healthcare arena now more than ever. On February 17th, 2009 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) was signed by President Obama. This act, also known as the Stimulus or the Recovery Act, provides incentives to hospitals able to implement an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and prove meaningful use by 2015. Inability to do so by the 2015 deadline will result in a Medicare reimbursement penalty, which increases through 2017 at which point it becomes permanent.

Hospitals and Hospital systems are quickly evaluating their current financial status and frantically deciding how they will meet the requests of the ARRA. Implementing an EMR is not a simple or cheap task; it requires time, money, training, and adjusting to a new culture and way of operating. Hospitals need to weigh the benefits of rapidly implementing an EMR to receive the monetary incentives versus taking the time to properly plan, train, and install a more fully functional system at the expense of penalties and lost incentives. Costs for rework, software fixes, and updates to bring a rushed implementation up to optimal effectiveness and efficiency, or even certification, can easily exceed the incentive amount received for meeting the deadlines.

A major downfall for a rushed implementation is the failure to properly assess the current processes. Poorly performing processes should not be masked with an electronic system; this ultimately makes future process improvement projects not only more challenging, but more costly when redevelopment upgrades of the software are required.

The recommended approach is to take the time to evaluate the current state using a methodology such as Design for Six Sigma – DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify). It is essential to redesign the current processes with an electronic system in mind to determine the needs of the Hospital and its customers. This way, upon EMR implementation, the software can be designed from the start to address these needs and the newly designed features of the process. This approach will provide a smoother transition into the age of the Electronic Medical Record by having a significant impact on, as mentioned in the June 16th post by Steve Doerman, “consumer satisfaction, the company’s profitability, and even on the morale of the workforce.”

Geeno Carlone
Consultant, Juran Healthcare