About this Presentation
Despite the recent finger-pointing in the press, such as editorials in the NY Times, it's crucial to recognize that the use of local optima in managing healthcare organizations and investments in new technology have significantly contributed to the rising costs in the healthcare supply chain (HCSC). Healthcare is often perceived as a 'wicked' problem, characterized by complexity and an unknown number of potential solutions. Researchers have identified ten criteria for wicked problems, making them prevalent in today's challenges. In the operational research (OR) academic literature, there are two schools of thought on problem structuring and solving: hard OR (quantitative) and soft OR (qualitative). While hard-OR researchers have applied quantitative methods to healthcare for decades, the wicked problem remains unsolved. Soft OR studies have been more effective in capturing the complexity of wicked problems, but implementations are still scarce. In contrast, Goldratt's innovative, win-win, and paradigm-shifting solutions, although not initially designed for healthcare, have been successfully applied by a select group of TOC consultants and academics in actual healthcare settings. One example is Alex Knight, who has been applying TOC to healthcare for three decades, focusing on hospital and social care systems in the UK. Building upon Goldratt's methods and Simon's hierarchical decomposition principle, our approach addresses the entire wicked problem of the HCSC, with some aspects previously presented elsewhere. However, one crucial piece of the puzzle remains: a set of simple guidelines in non-TOC terminology that practitioners can easily follow to improve individual links (outpatient clinics) and achieve synchronization across the supply chain, providing timely, excellent, and cost-effective healthcare. This presentation offers such guidelines, with a primary focus on outpatient settings—an essential component of the healthcare supply chain. Join us as we unravel the complexities of the healthcare supply chain and explore actionable steps towards achieving optimal healthcare outcomes.
What Will You Learn
To help you get the most value from this session, we’ve highlighted a few key points. These takeaways capture the main ideas and practical insights from the presentation, making it easier for you to review, reflect, and apply what you’ve learned.
The healthcare system is in crisis globally with inefficiencies in scheduling and high costs. A lot of the ED visits are not actually needed, leading to wastage of resources.
The key to healthcare is timeliness. If primary care can be made more efficient and timely, it can reduce the burden on emergency departments.
The speakers propose a new approach to appointment scheduling, with same-day acute appointments and second day to fifth day concerned appointments. They also suggest redefining all job descriptions based on TOC and being proactive in scheduling.
Instructor(s)
James F. Cox III
James F. Cox III Professor Emeritus, Management Dept. Terry College of Business, University of Georgia, Athens, GA. 30602 James F. Cox III, Ph.D., TOCICO certified, CFPIM, CIRM, JONAH’s JONAH, Professor Emeritus, was the Robert O. Arnold Professor of Business at the University of Georgia. Before an academic career of over 30 years, he held industry and military positions. He taught Jonah workshops and numerous TOC workshops and programs. Dr. Cox’s research has centered on TOC for over thirty-five years. He co-edited (with John Schleier) the TOC Handbook. He has written three books on TOC and has authored/co-authored over 100 articles in top academic and practitioner journals, including Decision Sciences, the Academy of Management Review and Journal, Production/Operations Management Journal, MIS Quarterly, International Journal of Production Research, Production and Inventory Management Journal, and Industrial Engineering. He was the co-editor of the APICS Dictionary (five editions with John Blackstone) and the TOCICO Dictionary, 2nd edition. Dr. Cox, an APICS member for over 40 years, held numerous chapter, regional, and national offices (BODs for 4 years, VP-Research for 2 years, APICS E&R Foundation BODs for 9 years including 4 as president). He also served on the founding TOCICO Board of Directors and as its first director of certification. He has spoken at over 50 APICS and other professional organization chapter meetings, regional seminars, and international conferences on TOC. He has received the APICS Voluntary Service Award and the TOCICO Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the field. His research interest for 13 years has been the application of TOC in healthcare.
Ms Alka Wadhwa
Alka Wadhwa is an experienced consultant and process improvement expert with over 24 years of expertise in the Theory of Constraints (TOC), Lean Six Sigma, and organizational performance optimization. She has successfully led projects in healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing, driving significant improvements such as a 67% boost in hospital operations and a 140% increase in outpatient visits.
Previously, Alka Wadhwa spent 17+ years at GE Global Research Center, where she led initiatives to enhance various GE businesses through advanced technologies, process redesign, and system optimization. Founder of Better Solutions Consulting, LLC, she specializes in using TOC, Six Sigma, and data analytics to streamline operations and build high-performance teams.
Her work has earned her multiple accolades, including the Empire State Award of Excellence in healthcare.
Vicky Mabin
Vicky Mabin, PhD FORS is Adjunct Professor at the Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Business and Government. She has taught several hundred students about TOC and conducted and supervised many projects using TOC. Vicky led the first implementation of TOC in New Zealand in 1987, and has written over 200 journal articles, books, chapters, conference papers, teaching texts, and technical reports, many of which are on TOC. She is leading author of TOC TP articles, and co-author of The World of TOC (2000), bibliographical articles on TOC, and co-creator of the TOC research articles database.
Vicky served on the TOCICO Board of Directors from 2016–2019 and is a frequent presenter at TOCICO and Operations Research/Decision Sciences conferences. She has received top awards including Fellow of the ORS (UK), the ORSNZ’s premier award the Hans Daellenbach Prize for her contributions to the theory and application of OR, particularly TOC, and most recently the Griffiths Medal for the best paper in the last 2 years in the Health Systems journal.