Optimization, efficiencies, and ROI improvements continue to rise to the top in terms of priorities in the world of health care.

There is an increasing demand on health care providers to make processes more efficient and get the most value out of investments. Just this week, we published an article discussing how to measure and illustrate value, as it relates to patient outcomes, systems implementations, and project management.

After we published our article, the results of a survey on a related topic were released. The survey examined the concerns of quality professionals in health care. ASQ, a global association of quality improvement professionals surveyed 323 professionals and addressed the barriers to quality improvement in health care delivery and processes.

According to the results, quality professionals in health care think the following areas are “extremely important”:

• Reducing hospital readmissions – 42.9%
• Creating efficiencies with existing clinical resources to maximize patient throughput – 34.52%
• Implementing patient care coordination programs – 30.45%
• Changing medical malpractice laws – 30%
• Improving data and analytics on ROI of medical products / technologies – 23.2%
• Improving supply chain management – 21.29%
• Redesigning hospital care spaces to be more efficient – 21.22%

When asked what quality improvement approaches would “help healthcare organizations to cut costs and reduce waste,” survey respondent results indicated:

• Increasing the use of quality and process engineers in healthcare settings – 29.68%
• Focusing on Lean management principles – 29.68%
• Implementing mandatory process improvement training for healthcare professionals – 29.22%
• Creating financial incentives to deliver more efficient care – 27.12%
• Forming or joining purchasing collaboratives and group purchasing organizations to leverage their buying power – 19.14%
• Expanding the use of medical technology – 17.43%

Health care is facing a variety of challenges and in order to make progress, clinical and operational areas need to work together to improve efficiencies.

For our own survey efforts, we’d like you to tell us the primary hurdles your organization faces that keeps it from improving ROI and efficiencies?

Share in the comment section, below.