MGT603 System Thinking 2 Assignment Sample

MGT603 System Thinking Assignment Sample

Executive Summary

System thinking is the emerging technology in all the fields, especially the medical sciences and healthcare. In this report, a report has been prepared that highlight the most concerning issue of the healthcare sector i.e., increasing patient turnaround time. The factors contributing to the issues were outlined and some recommendations for the same have been provided. In addition to this, the analysis of the current value stream mapping was done and recommended system was proposed in the report.

Introduction

The concept of the system thinking is continuously growing in this technologically advanced world. The system thinking approach is responsible for sustainability as well as the profitability of the company and it further also involves the innovation in business practices. One of the major concerns highlighted in the healthcare sector is the waste of time before the diagnostic of any patient. It has been identified that it is approximately 19 minutes and 19 seconds which are wasted for a patient before meeting to the doctor. In the case of emergency cases, it has become a very major issue. The report will highlight the turnaround time taken by the patients and the discussion regarding the new framework required to be adopted to resolve this issue will also be made. This report will highlight the benefits and consequences of using such a framework in the healthcare setting.

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Identification and Analysis of the System Archetypes Impeding Performance

The systems archetypes characterise the common behavioural patterns within an organisation. Being the diagnostic tools, they provide a knowledge of underlying structures and consequences to the managers by analysing the behaviours over time. In this case, the hospital lacks the proper implementation of any system archetype. If these tools are well-implemented within the processes of the hospital, then the issue of prolonged waiting time might be reduced effectively. The services of the emergency department of the hospital can be improved by making use of different system Archetypes.

From the perspective of 'Limit to Growth Archetype', the problem of the increased turnaround time of patient can be analysed. It has been seen that there can be various factors that are increasing the time (Acaroglu, 2017). These can be an internal or external factor. The former comprise the lack of technical skills, poor time management, lack of human resource, poor equipment, etc. External factor consists of a delay from the medical services supplier and other stakeholders. All these factors can be called the limiting factors and can slow down the progress of the process. The process is illustrated in the figure below:-

It was also identified that poor technical skills are also the concerning issue for the hospital as this is also contributing to the increased turnaround time for the hospital. It has been noticed that technophile archetype characterises the practices that rapidly adapt and make use of medical record-keeping. This automated system helps the nursing staff to handle emergency cases. Each of these practices can contribute to reducing the waiting time for the patient. However, these practices are not fully implemented in the hospital. This is jeopardising the competitive position of the hospital and patient turnover would also increase eventually if the problem is not resolved at the earliest (Lezak&Thibodeau, 2016). It has been noticed that on the arrival, the relatives of the patients in an emergency situation have to wait for their turn in the queue for the registration process. The hospital does not use any digital payment mode accepts the credit card.

Also, online registration and booking option is not available on the website. This increases the queue length. In addition to this, there are many mediators who carry out different functions before a patient get to meet the doctor. For instance, the nursing staff would carry out the basic level checks and collect information about the patient's illness. This is likewise bringing about expanded time as the ordinary specialists set aside an effort to comprehend the circumstance of the patient and give the correct treatment to them. They counsel the particular specialists from different medical clinics which likewise increment the time taken up by a patient. Likewise, it is discovered that the medical clinic is concentrating on decreasing the operational expense and consequently, the administration is looking for more assistance and backing from its restricted staff. The individuals are as of now doled out with more than one obligation so they are not ready to cook the patients sitting tight for their turn. There is no group that explicitly handle crisis circumstances

Current State Value Stream Map analysis based on the System Archetype

To evaluate and assess the operation flowin the healthcare industry, Value Stream Mapping is utilized by the professionals. The use of such a framework is quite critical. This framework is useful in the determination of the operation managementmodeling of ED as well as the flow of the process in the medical industry. To analyze and evaluate the Current State Value Stream Map, it is necessary to take the first and foremost step (Williams, et. al., 2017). The very first step is the identification of the target. There are several processes involved in the operations of such VSM. The first process involved in such a framework is the patient registration where the registry on the name of the patient is being done by himself or by any of his relative. After that, they are required for their number in the waiting area of the clinic or the hospital. After that,the nurse collects the information regarding the patient and then examines him. All the required information is then provided to the physician of such patient. The doctor initiates the diagnosis of the patient and the medical supplies are arranged by the nurse so that the treatment of the patient can be started. After the completion of such a process, the patient can leave the hospital (Phillips, et. al., 2018).

In the case of emergency cases, death can only be the last consequence of the excessive time taken in the waiting area before the diagnosis. There is a requirement of changing such a system in the hospitals and the management should understand its increasing requirement. There is a requirement of the effective time management within the hospitals and manage the flow of information from one source to another source (Grohs, et. al., 2018). If such mediators are reduced in the process, the flow of the information can be made fast which can improve the whole process of the diagnosis for the emergency cases. The direct information is required to be reached to the physician who can solve the issues of misunderstandings and miscommunication between the doctor as well as the patient. This process can help in the reduction of the waiting time and the emergency cases can also be handled appropriately within a shorter period (Stalter, et. al., 2017).

Recommended new State Value Stream Map with the desired reduction in patient turnaround time.

The recommended system is developed after considering and analysis of the issues identified in the previous section. From the competitive position viewpoint, the hospital current system requires urgent interventions that are critical for the bottom line of the business. First and foremost, the recommendation for the new system would be to reduce the time-consuming processes into simpler processes or eliminate the processes that are of no use. The need for discarding such process arises from the fact that they consume time and resources of the hospital and increasing the waiting time (Cuncliff, 2017). For instance, at present, the hospital lacks specialised doctors. They arrange counsel from external sources. This increases the time of treatment as specialised doctors would be called only when there is some sort of emergency. A patient has to wait until the doctor arrives. In addition to this, the nurse collects the data and provides basic treatment to the patient before the patient meets the patient. This is unnecessary as the doctor should attend the patient as the case is of emergency.

Also, the manual record-keeping should be avoided as data entry is time-consuming in such cases. In addition to this, technical training should be provided to the staff for handling the latest equipment. This would help in reducing treatment time and better services. Ultimately, all this would remarkably improve the service quality of the hospital. In addition to this, the hospital requires to make certain amendment in the value chain of the hospital. The new value stream guide of the emergency department contains the least or no poor flow of information which helps in diminishing the long keeping it together time for all of the patients before they get the convincing treatment (Cuncliff, 2017). With the help of feasibly executing and completing this working plan, the emergency department can manage the undertakings effectively without affecting the show of various divisions in the department.

Discussion regarding the intended and unintended consequence of the new modified system

Every new technique or framework may have some pros and some cons. The intended consequences are categorized as the positive results desired by the parties and the unintended consequences are categorized as the negative impacts or the side effects of such a new modified system. Following are such intended and unintended consequences of the proposed model:

Intended consequences

• The modified system will help in facilitating the systematic as well as the planned flow of the information without any kind of delay.
• To handle and manage the complex problems and the emergencies, the specialized staff of the employees will be hired (Rhoades, et. al., 2014).
• The effective time management in the healthcare settings and effective strategies to increase the speed of the diagnosis system
• The effective and timely delivery of the services will help maintain the goodwill of the hospital in the industry.
• The patients will be satisfied more and the management policies of the hospital will also be improved (Phillips, et. al.,2018).

Unintended outcomes

• There can be poor patient satisfaction due to the high level of the growth of business practices and their influence on the quality of the services provided by it.
• There may be the avoidance of some necessary processes due to the eradication of mediocre in the diagnosis process of emergency cases.
• There will be a requirement of the training and development programs for the employees of such hospital which may lead to increasing costs.
• The reputation of the company may impact negatively due to the reverse impact of such modification in the existing framework (Clark& Hoffman, 2019).

Conclusion

There is a need for the hospitals and their management to be aware of the consequences of the waiting time in the case of emergency cases. They are required to manage the system of their emergency department to solve such kind of issues. The efficiency of the services gets diminished due to the reason of waiting time taken before the diagnosis of the patients of emergency cases. To reduce the wastage of time as well as the resources, the healthcare industry is required to use the TQM processes in their existing systems and these systems should also be modified for further improvement. The report has provided the recommendations on the consequences of the new improved system for such healthcare sector.

Recommendation

To reduce the waiting time in the hospitals, the following are certain numbers of the recommendations presented:

• There must be allowed only the special skilled staff for the cases of emergency in the hospital.
• The use of cloud-based techniques must be made in order to facilitate the doctors to access the data of the patients (Lezak&Thibodeau,2016).
• The information registration system of the patients must be done online in order to save the time of the patients.
• There must be used the secured system for the data storage in order to avoid theft and tempering.

References

• Acaroglu, L. (2017). Tools for Systems Thinkers: The 12 Recurring Systems Archetypes. Retrieved 20 August 2019, from https://medium.com/disruptive-design/tools-for-systems-thinkers-the-12-recurring-systems-archetypes-2e2c8ae8fc99
• Clark, K., & Hoffman, A. (2019). Educating healthcare students: Strategies to teach systems thinking to prepare new healthcare graduates.  Journal of Professional Nursing: Official Journal of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing,35(3), 195-200. DOI:10.1016/j.profnurs.2018.12.006
• (2017). Healing Troubled Institutions Through Systems Thinking - The Systems Thinker. Retrieved 17 August 2019, from https://thesystemsthinker.com/healing-troubled-institutions-through-systems-thinking/
• Grohs, J., Kirk, G., Soledad, M., & Knight, D. (2018). Assessing systems thinking: A tool to measure complex reasoning through ill-structured problems.  Thinking Skills and Creativity,28, 110-130. DOI:10.1016/j.tsc.2018.03.003
• Lezak, S., &Thibodeau, P. (2016). Systems thinking and environmental concern.  Journal of Environmental Psychology,46, 143-153. DOI:10.1016/j.jenvp.2016.04.005
• Phillips, J., Stalter, A., Winegardner, S., Wiggs, C., &Jauch, A. (2018). Systems thinking and incivility in nursing practice: An integrative review.  Nursing Forum,53(3), 286-298. DOI:10.1111/nuf.12250
• Rhoades, R., McCuistion, K., & Mathis, C. (2014). Systems thinking the approach to ranching: Finding leverage to mitigate drought. Rangelands,36(6), 2-6. DOI:10.2111/RANGELANDS-D-14-00017
• Stalter, A., Phillips, J., Ruggiero, J., Scardaville, D., Merriam, D., Dolansky, M., . . .Winegardner, S. (2017). A concept analysis of systems thinking.  Nursing Forum,52(4), 323-330. DOI:10.1111/nuf.12196
• Williams, A., Kennedy, S., Philipp, F., & Whiteman, G. (2017). Systems thinking: A review of sustainability management research.  Journal of Cleaner Production,148, 866-881. DOI:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.02.002