Health Care Operations Management : A Discipline Of Management

“Health care operations management is a discipline of management that integrates scientific or quantitative principles to determent the most efficient and optimal methods to support patient care delivery. “(Langabeer & Helton, 2016, p. 6). It includes those folks who hold positions from the top down to other health care providers such as nurses, technicians and physicians. (Langabeer & Helton, 2016).

For the past five plus years I have held the position of Nurse Manager of an inpatient Medical and a Rehabilitation unit. Part of my duties include operational oversight of both departments. I have had the good fortune of working alongside of and reporting to some excellent role models and mentors in operation management. Most recently is my supervisor and the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for Sacred Heart Medical Center at University District, Ben Farber.

Ben Farber duties include managing of all nursing services at the University District campus including the Emergency Department (ED), Regional Infusion Center (RIC), Medical Unit, Rehab Unit, Behavioral Health Unit, Wound Care, and Senior Health and Wellness. This comprises oversight of budgets, educational programs, competencies, policy and procedures, and nursing practice. He must “…ensure that processes are in place so that patients efficiently move from registration to treatment rooms to payment…”(Langabeer & Helton, 2016, p. 8). He reports directly to the Chief Administrative Officer and the System Chief Nursing Officer. Although he has only been in his current role for 18 months he has been at a Director level or above for just over six years. His educational background is extensive with a BS in Physical Education and Kinesiology, a BSN and a MSN (with emphasis on Cli...

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...Infection (CLABSI) rates are just two of the metrics that are followed closely as they drive CMS withholding. Those reports come out monthly and quarterly. Restraint usage is monitored closely, especially in units such as Behavioral Health and the Emergency Department due to the amount of seclusion seen in those areas.

Although technology in health care is not new, it is an investment that can lead to increased efficiencies and data collection. Peacehealth collects a wide variety of information from various departments. Ben Farber’s job is to review, find trends, develop strategies and action plans to improve scores. He does this with the help of those managers that report to him from the departmetns he oversees. It is only recently that our organization has been more accountable to that data, and communicating it back out to caregivers. Dashboards have been