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Process Improvement

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This module is designed to help you, as a MEP participant, to understand the fundamentals of Process Improvement and to prepare you to apply them at your work site. It will help you to help your organization to manage its processes. It provides the concepts, tools and practical exercises. It will provide you information you need to manage processes, teach others and play an important part in improving your health system. Successful completion will qualify you to be a site Process Improvement Coordinator.

Rationale

The term management is used in many contexts. The traditional definition of management is “planning, leading, organizing and controlling an organization.” Earlier modules have briefly touched on these four major dimensions, but, this broad definition does not speak directly to the hands-on work a manager needs to perform in order to ensure a high quality operation. Because the MEP aims to yield improvements in  the health system over a short time period, it places the operational aspect of management, “process management”, at its core.

Process management means:

  • Taking corrective action if results don’t meet expectations;

  • Documenting processes,  the way work should be done in the organization;

  • Measuring the results of that work, as seen by customers.

In a well managed organization, all staff members have two responsibilities:

  • Do their job;

  • Improve their work processes.

When staff members continuously invest part of their time to improve their work processes,  management is effective and results for customers improves.  MEP’s main goal is that each participant returns to his or her work site and establishes a self-sustaining process management environment that continuously improves customer satisfaction with site services. At the end of this module, each MEP participant will become a fully trained Process Improvement Coordinator (PIC) and qualified to lead his or her site.

  • The paradigm of health care is becoming more customer centered;                                                               

  • Citizens of all countries are becoming much more aware of their right to health;

  • Governments are becoming more determined to improve the health of their populations;

  • External organizations and funding agencies are requiring evidence-based quality services to provide funding and recognition.

These factors are leading to demands for customer-oriented, health promotion and higher quality health care services. These in turn demand more effective management.

Learning is, however, a never-ending process. PICs are encouraged to keep current with health systems process management trends by reading journals. In addition, PICs are required to maintain a site Process Improvement Manual that is continuously updated.

Aims

This module aims to prepare you for hands-on field work.

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