“The clinical results of the study drew significant attention from the field experts at the conference.”
Kettering University Industrial Engineering student Jordan Myers and Dr. Lucy King, Industrial Engineering professor, recently presented their work aimed at improving patient care to the Industrial Society for Health Systems (SHS) Healthcare Process Improvement Conference in New Orleans.
Myers, a student in King’s IME 456 Healthcare Systems Engineering class, worked in conjunction with King and with employees at McLaren Family Medicine Residency Center (MFMRC) in Flint, Mich., to help improve processes and productivity in the facility. Myers worked with the facility for eight weeks, assisting in streamlining patient lab test orders and results reporting as well as working with staff to alleviate patient anxiety and set patient expectations.
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Due to time constraints, the scope of the project was pared to only the lab test order processing portion of the entire flow of the lab order to delivery of results.His strategic plan included use of Industrial Engineering principles like value stream mapping, gap analysis, standard operating procedures, simulation and more.The metric selected to gage improvement was time required to process lab test orders. The result of the analysis and process implementations at the facility was a 30 percent improvement reflected in both patient care and patient satisfaction.The staff was more satisfied as well.
Jordan Myers (left) and Dr. Lucy King at the Industrial Society for Health Systems (SHS) Healthcare Process Improvement Conference in New Orleans.
Myers, King and three employees from MFMRC – Dr. Paul A. Lazar (the director of the center), Dr. Paul Dake M.D. and Amelia Doherty, B.S.N. and R.N. – authored a paper on the findings and presented it at a poster session at the conference.
“The clinical results of the study drew significant attention from the field experts at the conference,” King said.
“The conference was an excellent way to network with others and share knowledge of healthcare systems and engineering practices,” Myers said, noting that the professional feedback he received from healthcare professionals was particularly rewarding. “There’s nothing more satisfying than teaching or presenting something and knowing that someone else will be considering it for their workplace. The most important thing I learned is that healthcare in the United States is in dire need of Industrial Engineering skillsets. It’s a challenging field for Industrial Engineers with new opportunities around every corner.”