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Operations Management plays a crucial role in healthcare for controlling the costs, improving the quality of care services rendered and enhancing patient satisfaction. In particular, Hospital Operations Management is essential to ensure that the right processes and practices are implemented in the hospital.

There are many related tasks with an overall objective of increasing the standards and building best practices of Hospital Quality Management. That includes:

Formulating the correct healthcare strategies.
Developing the required skills of the hospital staff to improve their performance levels.
Maintaining healthcare regulatory compliance.
Procuring the medical equipment and other resources for building the hospital infrastructure adequately.
Streamlining the hospital expenses and workflow.
Creating a sufficient source of fund for maintaining adequate service levels to meet patient demands and sustain the hospital business in the competitive market.

To achieve this, every hospital needs an efficient operations manager who acts as a liaison between the hospital employees, patients and their caretakers. Certain operation manager skills are essential for effectively overseeing the overall functioning of the hospital. The managers must possess the ability to manage the financial well-being of the hospital facility, implement the right policies and handle both the clinical and non-clinical staff.

Role of the Operations Manager

Managing the healthcare services by carefully handling all the functional and operational aspects of the hospital.
Doing adequate strategic planning to ensure that the hospital business is stable and forecasting futuristic demands of the related healthcare logistics.
Gaining sound knowledge of the healthcare domain, information technology, best practices of the industry and the latest innovations to maintain technological proficiency.
Developing and implementing operational policies and procedures and enforcing rules to ensure that patient safety and care ethics are not compromised.
Recognizing the latest trends in data and doing accurate forecasting for planning future projects and monitoring the day-to-day functioning of the hospital.
Assisting the Human Resource(HR) department of the hospital in recruiting candidates for various hospital staff vacancies.
Building an ethical and patient-centric culture in the hospital that encourages all employees to be top performers and execute their duties seamlessly with high morale.
Overseeing the various financial aspects of the hospital including budgeting, auditing, planning and reporting.
Being a good role model and mentor to the hospital staff by displaying strong leadership skills.
Ensuring that the hospital abides by all the pertinent healthcare rules and regulations by scrupulously fulfilling the legal formalities.
Fostering and maintaining a close relationship with the senior stakeholders of the hospital.
Working closely with the hospital senior management to formulate both short-term and long-term goals and determining the values, vision and mission in line with it.
Building lasting external alliances and partnerships with other healthcare organizations including hospitals, diagnostic clinics, therapy centres, pharmacies, medical and nursing colleges and research institutes.
Enriching communication and trustful relationships between hospital employees and the senior management.
Solving existing operational issues, gauging potential threats and opportunities for the hospital business.

Operational Manager - Required Skill Set

Educational background in Operations Management or related areas.
Good experience and interest in the field of management and operations.
Strong leadership qualities.
Thorough understanding of financial management and budgeting concepts like profit and loss, cash flows and balance sheet.
Excellent team-building and communication skills.
Robust strategic planning, analytical and logical thinking capabilities.
Ability for doing negotiation and building consensus and relationships amongst various stakeholders including hospital employees, managers and outside partners.

In short, the Hospital Operations Manager oversees the high-level HR duties like attracting and retaining the best talent, enhancing the workflow and internal processes and improving healthcare quality, staff efficiency and productivity. Healthcare Consulting Firms with their expertise and experience can help hospitals in recruiting the right candidates for this post.

On analyzing the disease pattern in India, it was found that the infections acquired at hospitals were more in India than in the other Western countries. Hospital-acquired infections in India have a rate of 1 for every 4 hospital visits and this is an alarming figure. This demands the need for strict hospital infection prevention and control.

Every hospital is trying to devise strategies for infection control and the hospital operations management is trying to outline an infection control program. Here is an overview of some of the strategies for infection control followed by Indian hospitals based on the guidelines of the WHO.

Strategies for infection control at a hospital

Institute standard hygiene precautions at the hospital.
Outline additional infection control precautions to be implemented immediately.
Educate and train the hospital staff on hospital infection prevention and control.
Provide hospital staff with disposable gloves and masks and with sterilized surgical clothing and equipment.
Vaccinate the hospital staff in advance if necessary to prevent incumbent infections.
Protect the hospital environ from infections by implementing aseptic techniques for hospital hygiene.
Insist on using single-use clinical supplies like syringes, gloves, gowns, bandages, etc.,
Install an incinerator to dispose of the toxic medical waste that could cause hospital infection.
Insist on complete sterilization of patient beds, hospital wards, surgical instruments and equipment after each use.
Set clear standards for proper usage of antibiotics and precautions for exposure to body fluids.
Train hospital staff on the proper handling of body fluids and hospital waste to avoid contamination and hospital infection.
Monitor the hygiene routine continuously and set trigger alarms for non-compliance.
Have a backup plan ready to counter any hospital infection that might arie in spite of all these precautions.

10 steps to achieving hospital infection prevention and control
1. Washing hands
The first step in hospital infection prevention and control is to wash hands. WHO recommends washing hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds before eating, drinking, and caring for patients. All hospital staff must be encouraged to follow this washing procedure before handling patients.

2. Institute an Infection control policy for the hospital
The Infection Control Policy is a contingency plan that every hospital must enforce to achieve hospital infection prevention and control. To do this, enlighten staff on which kind of patients could easily acquire and transmit hospital infection. Outline the precautions to be taken to prevent such occurrences. Elaborate on the isolation, quarantine and emergency procedures necessary to prevent the infections from spreading to the hospital staff and other patients.

3. Always check for quick hospital infections and exterminate the cause immediately
Certain hospital infections can occur and spread within the fraction of the eye. For instance, Clostridium difficile is a bacteria which is a rapid hospital contagion. Always check for this c.diff infection in diarrhoea patients and try to curb it immediately. One other such hospital contagion is the Flu virus which should be controlled ASAP a part of the hospital infection prevention and control.

4. Train staff regularly on infection control
Continuous education and training is a must for the hospital staff to be aware and on guard about the prevalent hospital infections. New epidemics are on the rise like Lassa Fever, Rift Valley Fever, Dengue, etc. The hospital staff must be educated on the symptoms and taught the precautions to handle such blood-pathogen infections or droplet-borne epidemics with readiness.

5. Insist on the compulsory use of gloves
Instruct all hospital staff to use disposable gloves while interacting with patients to avoid contact with infected body fluids. Gloves must be used even by the sanitation workers at the hospital while changing sheets, cleaning beds, emptying trash and sterilizing equipment. This is the simplest and most effective way to achieve hospital infection prevention and control.

6. Provide protective equipment to all the hospital staff
Protecting the hospital staff is the first priority to prevent the spread of hospital infections. Provide gloves, mask, shoe covers, face shields disposable waterproof gowns, etc for all the physician, nursing and sanitation workers at the hospital. Have isolation equipment ready to quarantine patients with contagious illnesses.

7. Insist on daily disinfection of the hospital premises
Ensure that all hospital premises including the nurse station, elevators, and reception desks are cleaned daily with a powerful disinfectant.

8. Wash and sterilize linens daily
All the linen at the hospital used by patients, nurses and surgeons must be washed and sterilized daily. Any cloth that falls on the floor must be immediately washed.

9. Prohibit patients from walking barefoot in the hospital
Provide disposable footwear to patients and insist that they do not go barefoot at the hospital in order to prevent infections.

10. Serve hot and hygienic meal for patients
Serve hot meals to patients and ensure that they eat them immediately. Dispose of uneaten food kept aside for several hours to prevent spoilage.

It is the foremost duty of every hospital to implement such hospital infection prevention and control measures as a part of their service to society.

Nothing in this world is easier done than said. Every change comes with its consequences and being prepared to address them requires knowledge and expertise. Hospital is one place where you have to watch your every step in the process of implementing new operational changes as any disruption in operations may slowdown the response rate or sometimes may affect the operations entirely.

This would be the least thing you would, as healthcare management personnel, expect to happen. Disruptions or delays in operations are few of the reasons why most of the hospitals, even today, are not thinking of ‘Going Green’. Lack of trained professionals who understand the workflow in an environmental friendly hospital adds up to these reasons.

In fact, it should be hospitals that practice green operational activities on a daily basis as a typical hospital environment is nothing less than a factory that produces tonnes of toxic wastages. Here are a few other ways hospitals contribute to the environmental pollution.

Equipment that uses hazardous chemical compounds such as mercury.
Increased energy consumption due to the equipment that needs to work constantly.
Excessive natural resources use such as water.
Usage of different chemicals and pesticides that impact environment.

On top of everything, processing the bio-wastage is another issue that needs to be addressed with utmost care.

Amid all these challenges, hospitals can manage and go green with systemized operations. Availing the help of healthcare consultants who could help setting up quality parameters at various stages of your operations.

Here are the other efficient operational practices that you could implement to compliment your ‘Go Green’ efforts for better healthcare sustainability.

Eco-friendly Waste Disposal Protocols – Medical wastage needs to be disinfected before heading to the landfill. Most of the hospitals across the globe follow the incineration methods that not only require excessive energy but also known for releasing noxious fumes which are not good for the atmosphere. Instead, following autoclaving or microwave treatment are not only energy efficient but also environmental friendly. Consult your nearest healthcare consultant to know more about environmental-friendly wastage treatment of your hospital.
Safe Treatment of Chemical Wastage – Usage of an array of chemicals an integral part of hospital operations. Using all these chemicals under the supervision of an authorized personality and ensuring the wastage is placed in the right bins is extremely important. Neutralizing the hazardous chemical compounds by safe treatment methods is highly recommended.
Find Ways to Save Resource Usage – The necessity of water, light and air could not be emphasized, not only in the hospital environment but in human life itself. The amount of resources you could save by simply changing the basic equipment will surely surprise you. Basic equipment such as changing the faucets, showers, lights to LEDs and using boilers instead of heaters can help the management not only in going green but also a big buck in hospital maintenance.
Going Local for Supplies – The regular supplies such as food materials and for basic equipment supplies, it is recommended for hospitals to go local. Get in touch with the local daily suppliers for food supplies and for the medical equipment can cut down on the long supply chain process. Another important initiative hospitals can take is helping formers by supplying them with food wastage which may help them in composting for a sustainable forming method.

Changing the operation landscape that is in line with the current requirements of the humanity is essential for any healthcare institute. With the help of healthcare consulting firms, you can revamp your supply chain system that is both time-efficient and environmental friendly. In addition, making changes to the infrastructure and replacing the equipment can be your long-term investments for a greener hospital environment.

Gone are the days when the doctor's words were considered to be from the unwritten Bible- to be heard and followed verbatim. Today's patients are more knowledgeable, aware and enlightened. They want to be fully conscious of their own health decisions. Welcome to the era of patient empowerment and consumerism in healthcare.

What is meant by "consumerism in healthcare"?

Consumerism in healthcare is an ideology that allows the patients to take their own healthcare decision consciously. It is a paradigm shift from following "the doctor's orders" to listening to "what the patient says/needs". It offers a working partnership between the physician and patient with the responsibility and commitment being shared equally by both. It fosters better physician-patient cooperation and promotes better medication adherence by the patients. With awareness mounting on the patient side, physicians are bound to be doubly careful in all the treatment decisions they take for the patient. On the other hand, patients have more responsibility toward maintaining their own health by adopting a healthier lifestyle.

What does consumerism in healthcare offer for the patient?

With healthcare digital consumerism, patients are exposed to a wider range of healthcare and hospital options via the internet, social media and mobile apps. They are also aware of the pros and con of each treatment procedure and are even well-informed about the operating procedure to the last detail. Patients hence have the liberty of "checking out" or "shopping around" for hospital or healing options to get the best treatment deals.
Secondly, patients have more exposure and access to medical insurance, health plans and retirement benefits. This offers them more purchasing power to select or shape healthcare services as per their budget and need.
Although healthcare consumerism statistics reveal that only 15% of the Indian population has health insurance, the recent health plan offered by the Indian government like Modicare or PMJAY-the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana aims at bringing at least half-a-billion people under insurance cover.
Consumerism in healthcare thus promises affordable and easily accessible healthcare options for the patients in India with the hope of a healthier tomorrow.

What does consumerism in healthcare signify for the hospitals?

This kind of supreme patient engagement importance offered by consumerism in healthcare force the hospital operations management to spruce up and improve its efficiency and service. Hospitals are forced to cut down on their in-patient, bed, and treatment costs while offering the same sterling service to the patients.
Consumerism in healthcare has made hospitals look for profitability not by merely charging patients but rather by cutting their overheads, inventory and wastage.
In order to sustain in the market, hospitals must employ healthcare digital consumerism to attract patients online through digital and social media marketing by offering them quality treatment plans at competitive pricing. To accomplish this, hospitals must engage the services of a proficient healthcare consulting firm to promote themselves.

The role of a healthcare consulting firm in healthcare digital consumerism

Patients today feel more empowered as healthcare consumers. They have a multitude of choices when it comes to choosing the hospital or treatment method. According to Mckinsey, the number of patients who were willing to receive treatment at retail clinics rose from 9% in 2013 to 24% in 2017. This kind of stiff competition necessitates the need for astute healthcare digital consumerism and this can be offered only by an experienced and expert healthcare consulting firm.
Clever strategizing, brand positioning and digital marketing are the tools employed by the healthcare consulting firm to promote the image of the hospital in the consumer's eyes.

Findings by Kaufmann-Hell indicate that

64% of the hospital consider digital tools to be the top priority in promoting healthcare consumerism.
Only 32% of the hospitals use customer segmentation while the rest still use traditional customer surveys.
Only 15% of the hospital have research specialists on their team to study consumer behaviour.

All the above findings confirm the need for a competent healthcare consulting firm in promoting healthcare consumerism.

With healthcare consumerism shifting the focus of hospitals to be more patient-centric, the hospital operations management of healthcare units has no choice but to enlist the services of able healthcare consulting firm to sustain and lead the healthcare market.

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Contextualizing the Role of Operation Manager

Infection Control in Hospitals

Green Hospitals – The Strategic Measures to Implement for Sustainability

Consumerism in Healthcare

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