How we manage

I often get questions as to how we manage this place. I usually jokingly reply that we don't manage, we cope. But we really do try to have a close alignment between the medical and administrative staff in support of the overall goals that are adopted each year by our Board of Directors. Those goals, in turn, are guided by our overall mission and informed by the strategic plans that have been approved by the board for clinical care, research, and education.

I thought you might like to see excerpts of this year's annual operating plan to get a sense of what it contains. Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while will not be surprised by some of the items included. There are three main categories -- improvement in clinical results and patient safety; improvement in patient satisfaction; and improvement in the organization's financial results.

Please remember that I am not presenting the complete document. Also, things arise during the year that can cause a change in plans. But this does present an example of the kinds of issues that attract managerial attention at an academic medical center like ours. The plan is based on analysis and conversations among people in all parts of the medical center. To that extent it is "bottom-up." But then it is formally adopted by the senior managerial and clinical leadership and then by the Board of Directors and becomes a "top-down" document against all are held accountable. Of course, it is widely shared with the staff by being available on the hospital's website and in meetings with people throughout the organization.

Fiscal Year ’07 Annual Operating Plan

Each year our budget and related annual operating plan offer new challenges and opportunities for success, and this is especially true of fiscal 07. While our ‘07 AOP is built around the three key areas of quality, satisfaction and financial performance as in prior years, you will note a slight shift in emphasis reflecting the challenges in this year’s budget.

This year there is an increased emphasis in implementing a more rigorous approach to improving productivity, managing clinical resources, and developing clinical pathways and in monitoring and measuring the success of these efforts. Many of you will be asked to participate in these efforts, and we appreciate your support.

We remain committed to and focused on clinical quality and patient safety and satisfaction, as they remain the primary elements defining our institution and its role in the medical community. We have achieved major progress in our quality of care and patient safety and have developed a track record of innovation in these areas. We have likewise seen continuous improvement in our satisfaction scores. In addition, we have been successful in developing programs that support the growth and career development of our employees. In ’07, our goal is to hold these gains and selectively build on the successes in these areas.

As always, this plan is supported by detailed and specific tactics and measures that will ensure our ability to be successful and measure our progress. We will periodically provide updates on these more specific actions to our Board, physicians and staff. We ask for your support and welcome suggestions on how to achieve these goals in FY’07.

Goal 1: Promote Continuous Excellence in Clinical Quality and Patient Safety

a. Achieve the goals in our annual quality and safety plan adopted by the MEC [The faculty's Medical Executive Committee] and PCAC [The Board's Patient Care Assessment Committee], including:
1. Implementing programs for patient safety, environmental safety, and emergency/disaster preparedness that ensures BIDMC’s readiness for JCAHO survey;
2. Achieving top 10% ranking in all the JCAHO/CMS quality indicators;
3. Achieving target performance in hand hygiene in 80% of critical care units and demonstrated improvement in 80% of inpatient units;
4. Achieving further improvement beyond 2006 rate in ICU central line associated bloodstream infection rate and best practice standards for VAP prevention;
5. Achieving influenza immunization rate of 60% of direct care providers.

b. Full implementation of key IS projects in patient identification, OR specimen tracking, and POE [computerized provider order entry] for ambulatory chemotherapy patients.

c. Continue to develop coverage plans and facility plans to meet patient needs and accommodate volume growth.

d. Expand the roll out of the clinical trials patient registration tool to two additional high volume departments/divisions.

e. Develop and implement patient safety initiatives in the Shapiro Simulation and Skills Center including training in the placement of central venous lines and in triggers/crisis management.

f. Achieve higher rates of donor conversion and organs/donor than the national goals for organ donation.

Goal 2: Ensure Outstanding Patient, Physician, and Employee Satisfaction and Loyalty

a. Achieve 95th percentile for patient satisfaction in inpatient, ambulatory surgery, and ambulatory visits and 90th percentile for the emergency department.

b. Complete the roll out of customer satisfaction training and job reclassification in all patient care areas.

c. Implement key recommendations from Referring Physician Survey including formal outreach to first time referrers and identifying selected enhancements to discharge fax for referring physicians.

d. Develop and implement a plan for assessment of core residency program performance in attracting and training residents.

e. Continue to foster open communication between employees and management through Town Halls, Executive Walk Rounds, and Management Roundtables.

f. Create and implement programs to recruit and retain an outstanding and diverse workforce including competitive benefits and compensation programs, career development programs, and leadership development programs to enhance the strength and capabilities of our managers.

Goal 3: Sustain Financial Strength through achievement of our inpatient and outpatient volume goals and increased focused on productivity targets

a. Achieve 3% operating margin

b. Support growth to achieve budgeted inpatient and ambulatory volumes.

c. Completing the Facility Master Plan and developing list of recommended multi-year facility actions required to ensure adequate capacity for ambulatory visits, surgical cases, and inpatient admissions.

d. Achieve significant productivity improvements required to reach the 07 budgeted cost/case and cost/visit and to prepare for FY08 budget by:
1. Implementing LEAN initiatives in 5 key areas with a focus on reducing costs and enhancing revenue;
2. Strengthening clinical resource management around high cost services in the OR and procedural areas;
3. Developing clinical pathways in partnership with physician program leaders to reduce variability in high volume/high cost DRG’s;
4. Continuing to identify and carry out projects to reduce energy utilization.