Exploiting Process thinking in Health Care

Abstract

In Finland, a project designed to modernize processes and reduce the waiting list for joint replacement surgery has recently been completed. The new surgery arrangements for artificial joint patients were monitored for a period of 1 year. The new arrangements involved relocating the anaesthesia phase outside the operating theatre. The reorganization of the patient care process for joint replacement surgery succeeded in achieving a 50% increase in operations. While conventional operations can often be pushed up a notch with state-of-the-art technology, for example, this article supports the argument that process thinking can be exploited effectively to support new ways of work and improve productivity in health care. Paying enough attention to this at the planning stage can be vital to the success of new IT system implementation.