Society for Health Systems

CALL FOR SHS BOARD OF DIRECTORS NOMINATIONS

Take advantage of this excellent opportunity to serve your society in a significant way. If not you, then perhaps someone you know is qualified to take a leadership position on the SHS Board. SHS continues to grow and we are looking for motivated, enthusiastic volunteers to continue the progress. Participating in a leadership role for the society is a challenging, yet at the same time, very rewarding experience. Take a few minutes to consider submitting your name or that of a colleague to the SHS Nominating Committee for review.

Interested candidates should complete the nomination form by Oct. 31 for consideration by the Nominating Committee for the following positions: Two directors whose terms will begin February 17, 2011. All nominees must be current, regular members of SHS. Students are not eligible.

Contact David Cowan (dcowan@gatech.edu), Nominating Committee Chair, if you have questions about the positions and responsibilities. Please consider giving back to your society.

FEATURE EVENT

Society for Health Systems Conference & Expo 2011

"Building Better Healthcare Systems"
Feb. 17-19, 2011 | Orlando, Fla.

The Society for Health Systems Conference is your source for the the latest in operational and quality improvement tools, methodologies and concepts such as lean, Six Sigma, productivity, benchmarking, simulation and project management. Conference topics includes clinical, human factors, information technology, leadership and management, lean Six Sigma, patient flow and quality.

UPCOMING

No-Wait EDs: This is how we do it!

Online on-demand

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt for Healthcare

Sept. 27-Oct. 1
Norcross, Ga.

Principles in Hospital Labor Management

Oct. 18-20
Norcross, Ga.

Lean Green Belt for Healthcare

Sept. 21-23
Norcross, Ga.

Lean Black Belt for Healthcare

Begins Oct. 4-7
Norcross, Ga.

Lean Green Belt for Healthcare

Oct. 20-22
Norcross, Ga.

SEMINARS | WEBINARS

VIDEO

Prescription for good health systems

Vinod Sahney is recognized internationally for his leadership in applying industrial engineering to health systems. IIE honored his remarkable career this year with the Frank & Lillian Gilbreth Industrial Engineering Award. In his acceptance speech, he tells of how the Gilbreths were the first to champion process improvement work in hospitals and challenges IEs to make modern management practices the standard in healthcare organizations. Sahney, who helped found IIE’s Society for Health Systems, recently retired from BCBS of Massachusetts.

ARTICLES

Adaptive Technology: The Engine Driving Performance

No one wants to go to the hospital. As if illness or injury isn't enough, we have to deal with one frustrating experience after another. Long wait times, delays, medical errors and other preventable irritants add up to a distrust and distaste for our community hospitals. Results from patient satisfaction surveys conducted within the past five years suggest a slow, but steady decline in public trust and confidence in hospitals. The majority of patient satisfaction initiatives are implemented to "clean up" after a patient and their family have been inconvenienced and irritated.

Sadly, it is within this confusion and chaos that delays, mistakes and miscommunication occur.

Reduction in Turnaround Time for Stat Specimen within a Regional Health System Clinical Laboratory

abstract Processing time for tests is often considered the most significant measure of performance within a clinical lab. This paper summarizes a project completed by four undergraduate students during a semester-long Workstation Design course. The project setting was a clinical laboratory that was not consistently meeting time requirements for completion of stat test results. The goal, as specified by laboratory management, was to reduce the total turnaround time for stat tests and increase the percentage.