Hospital Administration: Strategies to Improve Clinical Workflow

Hospitals are complex, fast-paced environments in which staff members often juggle multiple tasks at once. Maintaining workflow can be a challenge, especially when new initiatives or processes are introduced.

 Fortunately, there are a number of proven strategies that can improve your hospital's workflow so that staff members spend less time on administrative tasks and more time on patient care. This article outlines 10 strategies you can use to optimize your hospital's workflow, so that each staff member can focus on what matters most: patient care.

Establish clear roles and responsibilities

Workflow begins with establishing clear roles and responsibilities for each staff member. This includes not only the tasks each employee is responsible for, but also the department and shift in which they work. An advanced workflow system can help you identify bottlenecks or areas of confusion by tracking how many times a task passes between departments. Be sure to keep these roles and responsibilities up to date as staff members come and go and new initiatives are implemented. If you work in a large hospital, you may want to consider creating a workflow map that identifies how tasks move from one department to another. This map can help you identify areas of inefficiency, such as a long path between departments. You can then work with the departments responsible for these tasks to help improve their workflow.

Create a central workflow management system

Workflow management systems (WFMS) are tools that help you track tasks, assign due dates and identify bottlenecks in your workflow. This can be especially useful in hospitals, where staff members often juggle multiple tasks. A centralized WFMS can help you identify and redirect tasks that are falling behind. It can also help you identify and adjust unbalanced workflows, such as a department that is consistently assigned more work than it can complete on time. A centralized WFMS can also help you manage workflow during periods of change, such as when a new initiative is introduced or an employee leaves the organization. The system should allow you to track tasks, deadlines and other project data for these changes, so that the rest of the workflow is not affected.

Automate tasks whenever possible

When designing your workflow, watch for manual tasks that can be automated. This can include tasks such as sending reports to management or scheduling patient appointments. Whenever possible, look for ways to automate tasks so that staff members can focus on the most important aspects of their work. If you work in a small hospital, you may not have the resources needed to automate every task. In that case, consider automating the tasks that have the greatest impact on workflow and are most likely to be overlooked. These may include tasks such as sending reports to management or scheduling patient appointments. It can be helpful to have these tasks managed by software rather than by a person. When a task is automated, there is less room for error and it is more likely to be completed as expected.

Educate staff and patients

Workflow is about more than assigning tasks and deadlines; it also involves managing expectations. Staff members can make fewer mistakes and make better use of their time if they understand the workflow, roles and responsibilities, and expectations for the tasks assigned to them. Patients can also contribute better to workflow if they understand what is expected of them. Healthcare organizations should consider applying a standardized communication approach that helps patients and staff members understand each other. This can help reduce miscommunication and improve overall workflow. Consider developing an educational module for staff members and patients that explains the workflow, how tasks are expected to be completed, and what patients can do to help improve the process. This module can be integrated into existing communication channels, such as the healthcare organization's website or mobile app. Some WFMS software providers also offer communication tools, such as interactive patient education modules, to help improve workflow.

Hold regular workflow sessions with staff members.

As you begin implementing your workflow, hold regular workflow sessions with staff members to help them understand their roles and responsibilities. This can be especially useful when new members join the team or when a new initiative is introduced. Workflow sessions can help reduce errors and improve efficiency. This is especially important when new processes are added to the workflow. A centralized WFMS can help you track these changes and revert the workflow to its original state if something goes wrong. A regular workflow session can be as simple as a meeting in which the team is guided through the workflow and how it affects them is discussed. You can also hold regular workflow sessions with key stakeholders, such as management, to help them understand how your workflow works and when certain tasks can be expected to be completed.

Rotate job roles to increase efficiency

Many hospitals have departments with one or two employees specialized in a single task, such as appointment scheduling or inventory management. To increase efficiency, consider rotating employees through these specialized roles. This can help improve overall workflow performance by drawing on the different strengths of your team members and reducing the effects of burnout. For example, suppose your hospital uses a software-as-a-service (SaaS) tool to schedule appointments. This task typically takes several hours a day, which is more than a single employee can complete in a timely manner. You can rotate staff members through this role, ensuring it is completed each day, but at a manageable pace for each staff member. This can also help reduce errors caused by fatigue, which can occur when employees are regularly given tasks that exceed their capacity.

Provide visibility with real-time reporting

Real-time reporting can help increase visibility throughout the hospital, which can help improve workflow and reduce errors. This can be especially useful in WFMS that can integrate with other software. This can include scheduling software, data management tools, and more. For example, suppose a patient has an appointment scheduled for 2 p.m., but something happens that causes a delay. With real-time reporting, you can identify the patient's appointment in your scheduling software and update the appointment to show the delay. The system can then automatically update the patient's record to reflect the delay, which can help reduce the amount of time doctors and nurses spend manually updating records.

Establish predictable work schedules

It may seem counterintuitive, but establishing predictable work schedules can help improve workflow. This can be especially useful for departments with a heavier workload, such as emergency rooms or nursing staff. A predictable schedule can help ensure tasks are completed on time, minimizing the possibility of errors. For example, suppose the emergency room typically has a heavier workload on Friday nights. You can assign work schedules to account for this increased demand, ensuring tasks are completed on time and reducing the possibility of errors. This can also help you identify areas for improvement, such as an above-average wait time, and make the necessary adjustments.

Employ deterrent tactics for non-essential tasks

This is a controversial strategy, but one that can help reduce time spent on non-essential tasks. Deterrent tactics involve reducing the visibility of non-essential tasks so that staff are less likely to perform them. This can be done in several ways, such as not tracking tasks or metrics related to non-essential tasks, or only reporting errors related to non-essential tasks. For example, suppose staff members spend too much time filling out forms related to medication orders. You could then decide to reduce the visibility of this task. This can be done by no longer tracking the time spent on these forms or by only reporting errors related to this task. This can help reduce the time spent on these tasks so that staff members spend less time completing them.

Workflow is an essential component of the healthcare experience. By improving your hospital's workflow, you can help reduce errors, improve efficiency and increase the quality of care provided to patients. While each of these strategies is important, they are only effective if applied as part of a comprehensive strategy that takes into account your hospital's unique challenges. This article outlines 10 administrative strategies you can use to optimize your hospital's workflow, so that staff members spend less time on tasks and more time on patient care.