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Massachusetts General Hospital
Situation:
A preeminent medical institution and distinguished healthcare leader in the city of Boston, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) is also among the nation's most renowned hospitals. Like healthcare institutions nationwide, MGH continually seeks to deliver an increasingly higher caliber of cost-effective care.
To facilitate this challenge, primary care medical and administrative leadership worked together to establish reasonable productivity and staffing-ratio goals for affiliated physician practices. Leaders in the front office and caregivers on the frontline stood at impasse. Meeting the goals, although market-based, proved to be difficult for MGH practices.
The Croes•Oliva Group Contribution
Senior consultants were asked to identify opportunities to improve practice operations, with an emphasis on those changes that could improve work-lives for physicians and other staff in the practices.
Consultants first verified that MGH had indeed set reasonable goals. Then, working with practice administrators and physician leaders in forums, consultants offered counsel and guidance about specific issues concerning scheduling, patient flow and communication access. Then, The Croes•Oliva Group was deployed to tackle practice specific challenges, for instance:
- Resolution of excessive scheduling backlogs and constrained same-day access for one large, on-campus teaching practice by revising scheduling and triage management procedures, by reallocating staff and redefining roles, and by improving utilization of available software.
- Setting of protocols for managing and storing countless forms and written information for a pediatric practice mired in paperwork. Senior consultants developed protocols to determine what information needed to be captured on paper and how long it should be stored, and worked with pediatricians to eliminate unnecessary document duplication and to prioritize more effectively.
- Reconfiguration of every operational element - from patient care coordination to scheduling to ancillary test management - in a practice bruised by high turnover, contract loss and leadership changes as it transitioned from a private to MGH-owned group.
"The Croes•Oliva Group helped us develop clinical and administrative frameworks to more effectively manage our patients - from the first phone call, through the exam, to checkout. We will not allow constrained resources to jeopardize our vision for premier service, unparalleled quality and cost-effective treatment. The Croes•Oliva Group gave us workable plans to help us redesign operations and create a work environment that honors our physicians' multiple obligations."
Sally Iles, Associate Vice President for Medical Services.
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