Workflow and Process Design Flashcards

A hospital notices that patients frequently wait over 30 minutes at the pharmacy after discharge orders are placed. Which process redesign tool would BEST help visualize and eliminate the bottleneck?

Answer: Value stream mapping

Value stream mapping identifies all steps in a process flow and highlights waste, delays, and bottlenecks in the patient discharge-to-pharmacy sequence.

When redesigning a clinical workflow, a healthcare leader discovers that nurses perform a task that could be done by a medical assistant. This represents which type of waste in Lean methodology?

Answer: Underutilization of talent

Using staff at a higher skill level than required for a task is classified as underutilization of talent, one of the eight Lean wastes.

A process design team uses SIPOC analysis at the start of a project. What does the 'S' in SIPOC represent?

Answer: Suppliers

SIPOC stands for Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, and Customers, and it provides a high-level overview of a process before detailed mapping begins.

In a healthcare setting, a swim lane diagram is MOST useful for:

Answer: Showing which department or role performs each process step

Swim lane diagrams organize workflow steps by responsible party (lanes), making accountability and handoffs between departments or roles immediately visible.

A CHL candidate is leading an ED throughput project and wants to reduce non-value-added steps. Which question should be asked first to categorize each process step?

Answer: Does this step transform the service in a way the patient values?

Lean process analysis begins by classifying each step as value-added, non-value-added but necessary, or pure waste based on whether it creates value from the customer's perspective.

A healthcare organization uses the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle. In the 'Study' phase, the team should:

Answer: Analyze results and compare them to predictions

The Study phase involves examining the data collected during the Do phase and comparing actual results to expected outcomes to determine if the change worked.

Which workflow redesign principle involves moving decision-making authority to the point closest to where the work occurs?

Answer: Point-of-care empowerment

Point-of-care empowerment decentralizes decision-making so that frontline staff can act immediately rather than escalating every decision, reducing delays.