Rohleder Thomas, Bailey Brian, Crum Brian, Faber Timothy, Johnson Brandon, Montgomery LeTesha, Pringnitz Rachel
Process Improvement Office, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Int J Health Care Qual Assur. 2013;26(8):714-28. doi: 10.1108/IJHCQA-11-2011-0068.
Contact centers for patient and referring physician are important to large medical-centers such as the Mayo Clinic's Central Appointment Office (CAO). The aim of this case study is to report the process and results of a major process improvement effort, designed to simultaneously improve service quality and efficiency.
DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Discrete-event simulation and optimization are used and linked to significant service improvements.
The process improvement efforts led to about a 70 percent improvement in patient service performance as measured by average answering-speed (ASA) and average abandonment rate (AAR). This was achieved without adding additional staff, despite call volume increasing by 12 percent. Evaluating process improvement projects is difficult owing to the "phased" implementation of changes. Thus, there is no true control against which to compare. Additionally, the results are based on a single case study.
RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Evaluation of process improvement projects is difficult due to the "phased" implementation of changes. Thus, there is no true control to compare against.
Contact center data and operations research methods, such as discrete-event simulation and optimization, can be integrated with change management, which results in significant process improvements in medical call-centers.
ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Structured quantitative modeling of contact centers can be an important extension to traditional quality and process improvement techniques.
患者及转诊医生联络中心对梅奥诊所中央预约办公室（CAO）这样的大型医疗中心而言至关重要。本案例研究旨在报告一项重大流程改进工作的过程与结果，该工作旨在同时提升服务质量和效率。
设计/方法/途径：采用离散事件模拟与优化方法，并将其与显著的服务改进相联系。
通过平均接听速度（ASA）和平均放弃率（AAR）衡量，流程改进工作使患者服务绩效提高了约70%。尽管呼叫量增加了12%，但并未增加额外员工。由于变更的“分阶段”实施，评估流程改进项目具有难度。因此，没有真正的对照组可供比较。此外，结果基于单一案例研究。
研究局限/影响：由于变更的“分阶段”实施，评估流程改进项目具有难度。因此，没有真正的对照组可供比较。
联络中心数据与运营研究方法，如离散事件模拟和优化，可以与变革管理相结合，从而在医疗呼叫中心实现显著的流程改进。
原创性/价值：联络中心的结构化定量建模可以成为传统质量和流程改进技术的重要扩展。
