WK4 SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT GEMBA WALK AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
University of Phoenix *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
505
Subject
Health Science
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
6
Uploaded by renettalynn
Summative Assessment: Gemba Walk and Opportunity for Improvement
Renetta Roland
University of Phoenix
MHA/505
Doria Chege
04/02/2023
United Health Care Group/Optum360
United Health Group/Optum360 is a large organization that has smaller organizations under one umbrella. The organization that I worked with is Optum and the position I currently held is entry-level claims billing. Gemba Walk will help me with my future goals with the company and while doing a SWOT analysis, it will show how the company can cover the gaps and provide improvements throughout the organization floor. Our product and services with Optum360 are lab testing with Quest Diagnostics. We do patient and client billing. The labs get the requisition from the doctor, and they draw blood; file the insurance and get test results. The billing department makes sure that it is billed correctly to the insurance and the patient. The overall mission is to help people live healthier lives and help make the health system work better for everyone. Mission & Values - UnitedHealth Group (2023).
Some of the values that the company have are building a trusting relationship with the patient
and staff. Having compassion for the people we work with whether it is internal or external, being innovative with updated equipment, and performing our best. But, with any company, there are challenges, especially with change and growth. The step-by-step Gemba Walk will show where gaps are and what options we should review to close them and show improvement overall.
Observation/Call Center
Working in a call center, a health care call center can be very stressful because regulations and health care guidelines apply to us as well. The only that is different we must take
account of AHT, Hold Time, and intake call productions, all while staying in compliance with HIPAA. Since call centers are numbers-driven, sometimes we can lose sight of the employee’s health and well-being. Doing the SWOT analysis, showed where we fall short with communication and updated technology. Lacking communication can lead to confusion and a
high turnover rate. When technology is outdated, it allows frustration among patients and employees. The patients are trying to review bills on the patient portal and the system crashes, they call claims billing, and we provide information that the patient can’t see and making the call
volume rise because customer services are trying to de-escalate the call and then the patient threats to go to our competitor LabCorp because there’s systems are more updated, and the wait time is not long. Now the company is using the information from surveys to better serve the patients and now the company proving the staff with more updated equipment and our IT team is more available to deal with technical issues that will arise during a call. Our workforce management team is forecasting the call volume to schedule the staff better to take calls more efficiently.
Gemba Walk
If I was in management, I would utilize Gemba Walk to have a successful call center.
The first thing I would do is create a team and this team will be a person from each level of management, this way it will show different points of view. The focal point of the team is to watch for KPIs and how to make it manageable for the floor to reach and the patients that are calling in are taken care of in a timely manner. Once a team is created, communicate this information to the floor so that everyone is aware that someone will come around and ask questions, so that they do not feel intimidated and be able to build up enough trust so that they can be honest on what will make the process easier to work. Also, communicate that different people will come by during a certain time.
Once the team gathers all the information from the employees that provided feedback on what will make the process more effective, they will create a SWOT analysis and come up with options on how to close the gap. After careful review, have a team huddle explaining the Gemba
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Walk and that they were heard and advise the staff that everything will be taken into consideration and what will happen next.
The goal of the Gemba Walk
The goal of the Gemba Walk is to lower our average time realistically and be more efficient at the same time. The team went onto the floor or frontline of the call center, and we speak to a few employees that have different tenors with the company. For example, new hires, being employees for about 6 months, and ones that have been with the company 2 years or more.
This way it will be a well round comparison of why the change is needed. What was being observed was whether the tools are easy to access to help the patient, what was the reason why some calls are longer than others, whether we are taking control of the call, or whether the patient had control of the call. The team that was observing the call was workforce management, team leads, and quality control.
The Key Takeaways.
My personal observation in call centers is the same no matter what
type of service it offers. Call centers are numbers driven and it takes away from quality care. The
employees feel that they don’t matter, and the patient feels the same way. We must get back to caring for people in general. Simple things do matter, if you want quality employees, you need to
hear them and the turnover rate will not be high for the patient, we need to listen to them and show them that we care about them and their health and they are not just, a number of calls per day. With my takeaways, I created a SWOT analysis, create better virtual training for our floor reps, and make sure all equipment was updated and versatile to work from home or the office. The threats are providing equipment with a high level of security. The biggest opportunity would
be cross training all employees that will be able to pinch in at any time to help and this will lower
the turnover rate for employees and offer a small token of appreciation, don’t hurt.
Opportunities.
The one long-term opportunity is ongoing training, as the company grows
and changes guidelines, employees need to stay aware of the changes to do the job well. A short-term opportunity is to better equipment and tools to streamline every call so that the employee and the patient will not fall short of being heard and cared for. The patient should be able to go on the patient portal and see every lab work that has been done, see test results, and
verify that they have correct insurance information on file in billing customer service should see exactly what the patient is seeing at the same time, this will reduce a lot of waste, like long hold time. Conclusion
Optum360 is already in the process of making a few changes to better serve our patients and with these changes, it will be an overall success. We’re in the process of updating our software, we just completed updating our phone system and now we’re in the process of making changes to workforce management. So, all in all, we’re on the right path to making it a success.
References
Jansson, K.
(2022).
11 Steps to an Effective Gemba Walk
.
https://blog.kainexus.com/improvement-
disciplines/lean/gemba-walks/11-steps-to-an-effective-gemba-walk
Mission & Values - UnitedHealth Group
.
(2023).
https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/people-and-
businesses/mission-values.html
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help