Expect teamwork
Von Zychlin did not adopt a separate-but-equal philosophy for
Mount Carmel’s five operating divisions. Quite the contrary; he
believes the whole is still greater than its parts, and he expects
teamwork, collaboration and partnerships across all divisions.
After all, the common goal, as with any service-oriented business,
is to increase customer satisfaction.
“We need continuity of care through all levels,” von Zychlin says.
“If you look historically, health care has been rather episodic. If you
are seeking health care, you go to a doctor’s office. That’s one episode
of care. If your doctor sends you to a hospital, that’s another episode.
If he sends you to an outpatient center, that’s another episode of care.
Those episodes or encounters were not very closely linked to each
other in the past. We hope one day to create better and better links,
better continuity between those episodes.”
That means better communication not just within Mount Carmel’s
flagship division — the four hospitals, which traditionally had a lot
of individual autonomy — but also between all the divisions that
could share customers, or patients.
“If a patient registers at Mount Carmel West, then the next time registers at Mount Carmel St. Ann’s, not only will that information transfer with the patient, but key clinical processes and procedures that the
patient may find comfort in will have commonality,” he says.
Commonality in systems and procedures across Mount Carmel’s
divisions can also increase efficiency.
“If you look at how we go about overseeing quality of care, we
track hundreds of indicators,” von Zychlin says. “It’s a whole lot
easier for us to track those indicators if everybody is collecting
data the same way, if it’s reported the same way and if the teams
who work on improving quality of care work together so we’re not
reinventing the wheel.”
Commonality can also save time.
“If, for instance, a physician practices at more than one location,
there is a lot of value in the procedural work and processes we
engage in being the same so the physician doesn’t have to learn different processes at each hospital,” von Zychlin says.
The advantages are enormous — fewer opportunities for mis-communication, less time spent training on procedures and more
time spent with patients — as well as vital to better serving Mount
Carmel’s “customers.”
That said, there is still room for pioneering new ideas within various divisions.
“On occasion, we will pilot something at one of the sites, and if
that pilot seems to be effective, then it can be rolled out to all the
sites,” he says. “So there is also the benefit of the individual initiative and effort.”
