Projects

Back to Health Care Management Home Page>>

The Center will provide student projects and internship programs to strengthen the financial sustainability of individual departments, clinics, and sites at Fletcher Allen.   The Center will transfer knowledge from these projects across departments, clinics and sites to improve their specific business processes.

2009 Completed Projects

Improving Flow at Infusion Sites

An engineering management student at the University of Vermont evaluated the current state of infusion services across Fletcher Allen and proposed changes for an optimal delivery plan that would minimize costs while improving or maintaining current patient service levels.  Several points of analysis were conducted for each infusion site; a process-flow model depicting the process steps taken during an infusion, graphing monthly patient volumes, infusion drug tables, capacity estimates, a cost-benefit analysis, and time-saving calculations.  The research provided three recommendations; first, pre-order infusion drugs; second, standardize facilities; and third, implement the “Ticket to Treatment” currently used at the Cancer Center across all sites.

Analyzing Disruptions in Throughput:  The PRISM Implementation

A team of recent University of Vermont MBAs was brought on board to look at ways to minimize the effects of productivity disruptions from the second phase of the PRISM implementation in order to reduce deferred revenues based on referral patterns.  As part of this effort, they looked at minimizing the number and size of bottlenecks in patient flow while maintaining access to care during the implementation.  A dynamic, user-friendly model was created to simulate different potential roll-out sequences at Fletcher Allen ambulatory sites and estimate expected deferred patients and corresponding revenue losses for each month of productivity change.  While the model looked specifically at quantitative factors, a qualitative scorecard was also created to address non-quantitative considerations (e.g. site readiness, technology friendly, etc.).

Analyzing Disruptions in Throughput:  The PRISM Implementation in Specialty Clinics

A team from Fletcher Allen’s Planning and Business Development utilized the model created in the initial PRISM Implementation study, to review sequencing in the Specialty Clinics while delving deeper into the potential bottlenecks and revenue constraints in hospital discharges, OR cases, and ancillary volumes.  Their analysis revealed that the implementation should focus on spreading the go-live dates to minimize wide variation in volumes downstream.  The team will follow the implementation in the Specialty Clinics and review the findings in 2011.

Personnel Optimization for Traveling Nephrologists

A team of MBA students at the University of Vermont School of Business worked closely with the Nephrology team to develop a model optimizing three critical success factors: hospital revenue, provider satisfaction, and patient satisfaction at each of the six Fletcher Allen dialysis units.  The goal was to find the optimal provider scheduling scenario that maximized each of the three critical success factors.  The model was completed in December, 2009 with Dr. Solomon, the Director of Nephrology stating, "The students asked insightful questions to populate the model assumptions and produced a far more complex and interactive model than I had ever imagined. The model predictions were outside my expectations and will substantially impact how we formulate a strategic plan for the future. The students were all very facile with the model and seemed to be very excited about the results themselves. It was a winning experience for all involved."

2010 Projects in Progress:

Radiology:  Imaging When You Need It

Improving Flow at the WICC:  Bedside Registration

Assessing Attending Schedules at the MICU

Defining Culture and Managing Change in the Financial Group

Please check this page frequently for summaries of Fletcher Allen projects, or contact Abigail Trutor at the Center for additional information on findings.

Back to Health Care Management Home Page>>