Healthcare Operations Management

Today's challenging healthcare landscape—with its complex web of reimbursement systems, workforce challenges, and governmental regulations—requires a platform for addressing issues and trends. Savvy healthcare managers know how to integrate and deploy strategies to produce significant operational improvements and increase effectiveness throughout an entire healthcare enterprise.

Healthcare Operations Management explores the core principles of effective organizational operations and explains how they can be used to tackle healthcare-specific challenges, such as gaps in quality of care. Through an integrated approach, the authors provide a basic understanding of operations management and share strategies for applying advanced process improvement programs, tools, and techniques in healthcare.

This revised edition delves extensively into the role of technology in healthcare operations improvement, exploring the use and impact of digital approaches to care delivery and finance with an emphasis on big data and advanced analytics. Other new or updated topics include:

• Waste reduction and cost management in the US healthcare system
• Quality management factors contributing to improvement processes
• Tools and techniques for successfully deploying Lean
• Changes that extend the supply chain beyond the walls of the hospital or clinic

Most chapters begin with a vignette showcasing a real-world example related to the chapter’s concepts and conclude with discussion questions. Integrating content featured throughout the book, the final chapter outlines a model for continuous healthcare operations improvement that introduces an algorithm for choosing and applying the book’s methods and strategies.

The US healthcare system is filled with opportunities for significant operational improvements that can affect the delivery of patient care. With the tools and techniques presented in this book, current and future healthcare managers will be equipped to implement these enhancements—and achieve operational excellence.

John R. Olson, PhD, is the research director for the Center of Innovation in the Business of Healthcare and program director for the business analytics program at the University of St. Thomas. He holds a doctorate in operations and supply chain management from the University of Nebraska and is a master black belt in Six Sigma and a Lean sensei. Over the past 10 years, he has consulted with several healthcare organizations to implement their continuous improvement programs, including Six Sigma and Lean initiatives. Dr. Olson has published many books and articles in leading operations management journals and has consulted with Fortune 500 companies as well as many firms in the public sector.

Daniel B. McLaughlin is Senior Executive Fellow in the Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is active in teaching, research, and speaking at the university, with a special emphasis on healthcare operations and policy. He previously served as administrator and CEO of Hennepin County Medical Center. He was the chair of the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems and served on President Bill Clinton’s Task Force on Health Care Reform. McLaughlin helped establish and direct the National Institute of Health Policy at St. Thomas. He is the author of several books published by Health Administration Press, including Make It Happen: Effective Execution in Healthcare Leadership and The Guide to Healthcare Reform: Readings and Commentary. 

Luv Sharma, PhD, is an assistant professor of management science at the University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business. He holds a doctoral degree and an MBA from The Ohio State University. His research interests focus on understanding how information systems and other operational capabilities help develop an efficient and patient-centric healthcare delivery system. He is also interested in knowledge management and organizational learning issues and the role of analytics in influencing organizational competitiveness. Dr. Sharma’s research has been published in leading operations and healthcare management journals. He has also worked and consulted with several reputable organizations including the World Health Organization, Cleveland Clinic, Motorola, and Nationwide Insurance.