How do you turn the analysis into a new process?

Redesigning a process is a creative process. The analysis will have identified the strengths of the existing process and areas that could be improved. The points below provide some suggestions that teams have found useful, but you will add many more by looking at your own process and considering the design principles that should apply. Examine the design principles and consider which of them are relevant to your process. Translate them into specific recommendations that begin to capture the key points about the new process such as:

‘The duty doctor will take responsibility for the overall process and re-allocating resource if necessary.’

‘We will use the capability of the EMIS system to capture information throughout the process.’

‘We will minimise ring-backs to patients by identifying potentially life-threatening cases and those that are likely to be completed by the clinician by phone and only pass these on for telephone triage/consultation.’

Look at where work builds up in batches in the process, causing delay. Where a number of people are involved in a process, consider locating them in one place or allocating routine times every day to deal with issues to ‘stay on top’ and stop the delays happening. Can some steps be eliminated or combined? Sometimes it’s essential to check processes (and give them adequate time and focus) but often responsibility for getting it right can be left with the person who does the work. Look at which stages really ‘add value’ to the process and which do not. Can you omit stages that do not add value?

Look at points where errors occur and any ‘side loops’ for specific cases and consider how these might be merged with the main process. Map out the timeline and assess where the long delays are and what can be done about them. Imagine a perfect process for the patient or transaction involved. What would be different? How near could you get to that process?