Analysis of the Patient Transportation Department Dilemma (Case Study Sample)

Analysis of the Patient Transportation Department Dilemma
Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Case PAGEREF _Toc417719035 \h 3The Problem PAGEREF _Toc417719036 \h 3Proposed Solution PAGEREF _Toc417719037 \h 5Recommendations PAGEREF _Toc417719038 \h 9References PAGEREF _Toc417719039 \h 11
Case Analysis
Case
The company that has been chosen for this case study is Aldenbrook County Hospital which is an inner-city teaching hospital that has around 625 beds. The hospital is going through issues with the Patient Transportation Department involving the nursing department. The nursing section has twenty-three and a half positions, which includes a great deal number of staff that work all around the clock. The transporters are all assigned Monday through Friday to Radiology. Transporters work in all parts of hospital excluding Critical Care and the Emergency Room.
The Department has stressed relationships with every other Department in the hospital, the mood is always down and behavior issues. Moreover, families and patients have criticized about erratic and drawn-out response times that were just way too long. Most of the people that work in the department do not have anything past an 8th grade education. Numerous have never worked in a hospital before and have no impression of how to wear the right type of clothing. When they ca. The transport methods are messy at best. A patient some kind of way fell between a bed and the case is now under review with both patient lawyers and hospital. They also lost transport equipment and this is costing Aldenbrook County Hospital over $50,000 per year.
The Problem
The stressed relations that the Patient Transportation Department has with the other departments seems to be through lack of communication. Clearly lack of communication can create uncertainty that leads to stress and conflict among the different departments in the hospital. For example, somebody working could possibly be waiting for a colleague to deliver key information so that they could finish the ask on time. If the coworker does not reply to the employee's request for a status report or the colleague neglects to keep the employee "in the loop," the employee in the patient transportation department may start to worry that the colleague from the other department will not deliver in an appropriate manner. As a result, conflict among the different departments have occurred.
The patient transportation department had limited resources, such as office equipment, which in the end caused some of the experience conflict because don't communicate their needs for the resources. For instance, a worker in the patient transportation department who fails to inform others ahead of time that they will possibly need to use the lone office computer for a whole day to finish a project may draw the anger of the rest of the staff in the other departments who could likewise need to use the machine.
Aldenbrook County Hospital obviously has some limited resources, for example office equipment, may experience conflict if workers don't communicate their needs for the resources. For example, a worker who fails to notify others in advance that she will need to use the lone office computer for an entire day to complete a project may draw the ire of the rest of the staff who may also need to use the machine.
Aldenbrook County Hospital every so often depend on teams to finish out some special projects or even to complete the routine purposes of a department. If members of the patient transportation department do not communicate well with other departments, it may not be obvious what roles and responsibilities each member must shoulder. It is clear that some of the tasks were overlapping while others might be overlooked totally, leading to misunderstanding and conflict among team members and the ultimate failure to accomplish purposes.
Poor communication with the patient transportation department has possibly lead to the spread of rumors and gossip, which have create tension among the patient transportation department and other department. Aldenbrook County Hospital management has failed to address conjecture that the hospital could be downsizing, rumors may spread about definite employees or departments to be removed. Optimism may deteriorate as the rumor continues, and the patient transportation department employees who fear they will lose their jobs may dislike those who they consider are on more solid ground.
Patients and families have complained about inconsistent and lengthy response times because those in the patient transportation department are just taking their times. Some medical conditions at Aldenbrook County Hospital require and receive immediate care. Individuals who are having heart attacks or who have been suffering life-threatening injuries are normally seen by medics as soon as they arrive at the hospital. Nonetheless in less crucial cases, patients that have been arriving at the emergency room can wait for hours before seeing a medic, getting pain medication, having tests, or being admitted to Aldenbrook County Hospital. And unless a person had the forethought to call ahead, there is little way to know how long their visit will take. Wait times are critical to patients' perceptions at Aldenbrook County Hospital for the reason that the crisis room is often the "front door" to the hospital, the lone beginning through which countless patients will ever go through. Patients are paying ever more attention to waits, even shopping around to see where they can be treated the quickest.
Proposed Solution
Aldenbrook County Hospital does treat their patients but often times they will need some kind of follow-up care to speed some things up. In order for the patient transportation department to do a better job handling the problem with having to make patients wait a long time, they need MyHealthDirect. This can help them streamline the process. The research says it makes it easier for non-emergency patients to get admission to a reasonable physician in the Aldenbrook County Hospital without having to wait all of those long hours.
By using this program it will help get the patients in and out (Purtill MA, 2009). On average, it would cost everybody a visit somewhere around $25 dollars, she said. This type of service would be very beneficial to the staff because it will help move the patients right along through and it will help the visitors because it will get rid of all those long hours. Instead of them getting up and leaving after having to wait so long, they will opt to stay. It will also increase the amount of visits to the hospital. People will actually enjoy wanting to come back
Fewer patients in the ER would mean less wait time, but obviously there will not be able to be an estimate. Another part of the solution would be to offer free medical care to those that are financially challenged and cannot afford to wait especially when it has something to do with circumstances that are out of their control. There are a large number of patients who are referred from hospital emergency rooms. However, many are not conscious of their choices. The whole public is affected by more and more individuals going to the hospital for a cold or a cough They can come here to Aldenbrook County Hospital and focus on what they're specializing in, which should be emergencies.
Communication appears to be a he issue with the departments at the hospital. Put a group of dissimilar characters in the same room all day every day and for an entire week, add the stress of multiple things to do with patients, and such as with the patient transportation department it turns out to be a recipe for conflict CITATION Coa12 \l 1033 (Coats TJ, 2012). It really does not matter how well intentioned and knowledgeably like-minded the group of individuals that have been hired, unavoidably there is going to have quarrels over who jammed up the copier or unintentionally erased a co-worker's file.
A lot of the minor issues will not be that big of a deal for too long and something’s will just be forgotten, but a few of these disputes can really turn into major disputes such as the case with the patient transportation department. Some office arguments among the different departments were serious enough and could possibly even prompt legal action in the near future. To not have to go in that direction at all, the patient transportation department will need to come up with some strategies that can help build up the communications lines. First, the hospital; needs to let employees recognize from the start that their door is always open. Aldenbrook County Hospital needs to let their employees especially in the patient transportation department that they are important. The hospital needs to encourage the workers to come to them by making some kind of a safe environment in which they feel contented fairly and amenably uttering their obstructions. All conversations held in Aldenbrook County Hospital office will need to remain totally confidential.
When Aldenbrook County Hospital respond to conflicts, they need to do it with an open mind and a nonjudgmental method. That means completely no personal attacks against any of the workers CITATION Sha11 \l 1033 (Shatney CH, 2011). With this method, they need to do things such as ask questions and really listen to the responses so that the employee will be able to understand how each individual in the argument is feeling. By doing this, they would be able to help the two parties reach a resolution that is satisfactory to everyone in the different departments. Lastly, if Aldenbrook County Hospital policies are to blame for the matters, go to management and suggest some long-lasting policy changes.
Aldenbrook County Hospital need to create an atmosphere that's understanding of, and sensitive to, the needs of all their workers, no matter what their religion or culture. That...