Dynamic Capacity Management for Healthcare

Why does every healthcare improvement project we undertake fall short of our intended goals? We have tried all the techniques and tools of other industries and still cannot achieve the desired outcomes. Despite heroic efforts, patients wait -- that is the end result. They wait everywhere -- and costs, counted on a variety of scales, continue to mount. What element is missing? The answer is dynamic demand capacity matching and management. Within this book, you begin the journey of understanding how the protean interdependent relationships unique to healthcare delivery, each with their own variability, combine to form an intricate ballet that is actually predictable and manageable. This book is a must-read for anyone engaged in healthcare improvement, whether you work in a clinic, hospital, or healthcare system. -- Keith Messner, MD, MBA, BSN , Emergency Physician, Healthcare Transformation Medical Director, Cape Fear Valley Health System. Fayetteville, North Carolina A lot has been written over the years regarding the complexity and individuality of health care delivery. In Dynamic Capacity Management for Healthcare, the author states the premise that a more scientific application of predictive and capacity measurement analytics will improve cost management and patient satisfaction. The use of range management, not averages, and of consistent standardization in operating practices will lead to smoother workflows and performance. Healthcare is facing a huge challenge in reforming delivery predicted on changes and incentives in payment. Without revamping dynamic delivery systems to reduce and to reallocate current costs, chaos and disruption will likely occur. We need the analytical tools and creative mindset outlined in this book to help guide us on the path to reform. Thanks for the knowledge and for the encouragement to get it done. -- Mike Sack, CEO, Hallmark Health Pierce Story has added an important chapter to the growing body of literature on healthcare performance improvement. His theme of managing effectively to actual demand is compelling, and the contention that healthcare leaders should not be dogmatic about the methods or tools of continuous improvement is right on target. -- Pat Hagan, President and COO, Seattle Children's Hospital