Discharge Planning Handbook for Healthcare: Top 10 Secrets to Unlocking a New Revenue Pipeline [ Active ]

Preface

Failure to recognize the overarching impact that proper discharge planning has on costs, operations, service, and quality of care, can cost your organization millions. Discharge planning is being forced to take on a new face in the world of healthcare and the choice to remain stagnant is no longer an option. The Discharge Planning Handbook for Healthcare is designed to provide new innovative solutions that can turn one of the most antiquated aspects of healthcare into one of the most productive. The theme of this book involves redefining discharge planning to realize hidden financial opportunities. The new performance-improvement concepts and approaches discussed balance all aspects of existing business models to provide a newapproach to managing the discharge planning process. This book provides forward-thinking organizations with innovative tools that allow the user to perform ordinary functions in extraordinary ways. It is the authors' hope that by identifying a new revenue pipeline through improved discharge planning, a greater respect for this function can be achieved in the healthcare industry.

There is an abundance of information written on various types of discharge planning models (i.e., care coordination, case management, social work, utilization review, etc.). Because of the complexity of this function, the authors have chosen to focus this book on the administrative aspects of the process. This includes the case management, utilization review, and social work functions in an acute care setting. However, the purpose of this book is unique in that it provides not just a new approach, but also hidden secrets based on 25 years of discharge planning experience.

This book is intended for clinical and nonclinical hospital managers, directors, and officers. Specific discharge planning department team members such as case managers, care coordinators, utilization reviewers, and social workers will also find the information contained in this book highly applicable to their day-to-day processes. Further, healthcare students, physicians, and midlevel providers will gain insight to the depth and scope of the discharge planning function and its overarching impacts on costs, operations, service, and quality of care.

The Discharge Planning Handbook for Healthcare consists of five distinct concepts based on the Six Sigma DMAIC model (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control):

1. redefining discharge planning

2. focusing on the right metrics

3. using Lean concepts for redesign

4. using a practical approach for improvement

5. creating a culture that produces results

Readers will learn how to connect the discharge planning process with the continuous and relentless performance-improvement methodologies.

Chapters 1 and 2 begin with understanding the discharge planning function and the ability to identify opportunities for improvement. Chapters 3 and 4 help the reader focus on the right metrics to measure success. Chapter 5 details "Lean" methodologies for eliminating non-value-added tasks. Chapters 6 through 9 highlight the infrastructure required to transition to an optimal state of performance. Chapter 10 reviews the basic premise of Six Sigma methodologies in discharge planning, with the intent to show the practical aspects of the methodology through the Lean Six Sigma Action Workout. Chapter 11 discusses the importance of accountability, with an emphasis on achieving results. In the final chapter, the reader is provided a step-by-step implementation strategy for redesigning the discharge planning process to create a new revenue pipeline.

A case study is included to help readers utilize the basic concepts of the book in an interactive forum. The key provided in this case study will assist in measuring the reader's newly acquired skill sets. Additionally, a spreadsheet tool is provided to help users of this book to measure, improve, and maintain optimal costs, operations, service, and quality of care (COS-Q).