The Best Practices in Health Care Management

Best practices (the best way to do common functions) things within an organization) in health care management starts with a good management team. That management team must enforce a disciplined approach to customer relationships; however, they must also look for ways to leverage costs. Quality controls, a more customer-centric focus and access to data greatly improves overall health care management efficiency.

Quality Controls

• Quality systems, such as LEAN, have brought process-driven improvements to the world of health care. Those health care organizations paying attention to and adopting best practice strategies are reaching a higher quality of care with fewer mortalities and patient complications. Best practices also lead to tighter safety standards, reducing expenses related to workers' compensation and other insurance rates. The ultimate goal is to treat patients with more quality care during substantially lower patient stays.

Customer service

• Having a team-based learning environment contributes to the overall body of knowledge of the organization. The onus is on management to provide access to, and support of, continuing education and seminars for all employees within their organization. Automated and streamlined administrative tasks helps reduce errors and improve the quality of customer service.

EMR

• Access to good and relevant data is a challenge for businesses that rely on demand forecasts. The NGA recently published a guide on HITECH, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. The guide is called "A State Guide for Electronic Health Information Exchange" and it shares best practices in data and information sharing; the most salient of which is better access to data through electronic medical records (EMR).