Track: Healthcare Systems

Abstract

Hospital care processes are complex operational systems because they provide care services within the boundaries of numerous fundamentally conflicting dimensions. Top of the list are the measures of Clinical efficiency, Operational efficiency, Resources efficiency, and specific to South Africa is the labor law and trade unionism. The current operations paradigm is not adequate platform for care process improvement. The basis and core of this postulate is the high level of service process underperformance experienced in public hospitals. Statistics describing performance indicators in public health care, display a very poor care-delivery service performance in hospitals. Therefore, a new health care paradigm, which is characteristic of improved care process, is mission critical. This paper describes the new public health care model as a paradigm that seeks to implement public health care improvement systems by implementing management paradigms that are traditionally associated with private sector industry and continuous improvement thinking. The new public health care is a moving target due to an unprecedented growth in strength of the science and practice of public health care. Following an extensive literature review, this case study will illuminate critical and fundamental building blocks in care-delivery service process improvement for public health care, specifically in a Hospital. 

Key Words: Process, Public, Health Care; Technology; Improvement.