Enhancing Hospital Health Information Management using Industrial Engineering Tools

Hospital health information management (HIM) typically involves a number of stages, including medical records coding, processing, analyzing, archival, and retrieval. The exponential increase in healthcare spending, the need for quicker medical expense reimbursement, and the elevated security requirements for the sharing of medical records have added to the complexity and challenges of HIM. Moreover, the objective for HIM has always been to achieve better resource utilization, reduce the medical records processing time, meet regulatory requirements, and incorporate technology to streamline processes. This study focuses on applying various industrial engineering tools to improve the operations in the HIM department of a regional healthcare provider in upstate New York. This healthcare provider was in the process of implementing a Document Imaging (DI) initiative. Therefore, comprehensive time studies, workflow analysis, and value stream mapping were used to assess the current system operations. Then, various performance metrics were developed to serve as a baseline for quantifying improvements resulting from the introduction of DI technology. To delineate the future state, illustrate the impact of this technology on workflow changes, and provide scientific suggestions in the decision making process, a discrete-event simulation model was developed. After model verification and validation, the simulation results were used for specific operational suggestions, such as the determination of the ‘optimum’ batch size for patient chart arrivals, workflow modification, and personnel scheduling. Alternate scenarios for managing HIM work processes were also evaluated to provide decision makers with critical insight into their processes to enable change, improve the quality of work, and mitigate potential operational risks.