New Jersey Healthcare Institution 

This client is a New Jersey based hospital; a provider of comprehensive acute care and outpatient services with a staff of over 1300 employees and 500 doctors representing 30 medical specialties.  The hospital has received several local, state & national awards for patient satisfaction and operational excellence. 

Challenge 

The client had long recognized that the billing process cycle time was more than 20 days after discharge - excessive and costly compared to other in the healthcare industry.  Traditional improvement methods used over a 2 year period reduced the Discharged Not Final Billed (DNFB) process cycle time from 20+ days to 14 days - better but still well over the industry benchmark of 5 days.  The hospital engaged DeBaylo Associates to implement their rapid cycle time PEP Six Sigma methodology to achieve sustainable breakthrough results in their Revenue Collection Process. 

DeBaylo Associates was selected because of its results focused, self-funding, PEP methodology and expertise in:                                                                                                                                                     

            à Six Sigma Leadership Orientation and Support

            à Six Sigma PEP 

Approach 

DeBaylo Associates was engaged to introduce, train and implement Six Sigma.  A customized, one-day Executive Overview was developed and presented to the management team.  The goal of this session was to define the differences between traditional Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) approaches and Six Sigma, provide management with an understanding of Six Sigma concepts and methods, and generate enthusiastic leadership support for the initiative.   

The client was seeking an expedited, efficient and cost effective means of initiating their first Six Sigma project.  DeBaylo Associates facilitated the DNFB project using its PEP Six Sigma approach.  A cross-functional team was chartered with CFO sponsorship.  A DeBaylo Associates Master Black Belt provided coaching, training and mentoring for the team.  Through several full day sessions over a less than two month period, the process was mapped, performance quantified, and cycle time delays and bottlenecks identified and verified with data.  Six Sigma process analysis, cause and effect diagram, correlation, regression and ANOVA tools were used.  A new, standardized process was developed, training conducted and communicated to all key stakeholders.  Finally, a control plan was put into place to monitor performance and sustain the gains achieved.  

Results 

p      DNFB process cycle time was reduced to under 5 days and sustained over a 6 months control period.   

p      The net result was increased positive cash flow of over $3 million - significant, sustainable savings.  

p      Hospital management, medical professionals and employees now have a working understanding of the Six Sigma methodology and a successful results-based confidence to initiate other projects.