Identifying and Mitigating Workflow Issues in a Complex Organizational Environment: Dealing with Bottlenecks in Healthcare Systems

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to take this chance for thanking my research facilitator, friends and family for support they provide, their belief in me as well as the guidance they provided me, without that I would have never been able to do this research.

DECLARATION

I, (Your name), would like to declare that all contents included in this dissertation stand for my individual work without any aid, & this dissertation has not been submitted for any examination at academic as well as professional level previously. It also represents my own views & not essentially the ones associated with university.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSii

DECLARATIONiii

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION1

Background and Policy Description of NHS2

Rationale3

Research Methodology4

Research Approach4

Data Collection Methods5

Research Aims6

Research Objectives6

Statement of Hypothesis7

Research Questions7

Structure of the Dissertation8

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW9

Introduction9

Background and Industry Background9

Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Healthcare Industry12

Cost Containment in Healthcare Industry13

Capacity Management of Outpatient Clinics13

Empirical Studies on NHS15

Health Equity15

Equality in Utilization of Health Service16

Predictions of Future Outcomes17

Measuring Equality of Health Outcomes18

Current trends in the NHS impacting health equity19

Different Types of Bottlenecks22

Assessment of Current Treatment Options23

Creation And Evolution Of The National Health Service23

Reforms to the NHS over time24

Methods needed for the reduction of bottlenecks25

Scope of the data for future26

REFERENCES27

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Identifying and mitigating the workflow issues is an important process that can bring various changes within the organizational system. The current study is based on the identification and mitigation of the workflow issues and dealing with the bottlenecks in the healthcare system. The study aims to identify various issues and bottlenecks in the workflow of the healthcare system and give suggestions for mitigating these bottlenecks in the healthcare system. The healthcare system that has been selected for identifying and mitigating workflow issues and bottlenecks is the National Health Servcie (NHS).

The research is based on analysis of the bottlenecks of the healthcare system in the United Kingdom. The healthcare system is an important infrastructural element in any advanced economy. It has effects on the health of the population and thereby effects labour reproduction costs and as such it has an effect on the performance of the economy as a whole. In the United Kingdom, some 1.18 million whole time equivalent staff work directly for the NHS and it consumes £160 Billion pounds per year in cost.

The study is mainly based on the analysis of the constraints or the restrictions in one form or the other that stops the medical practitioner from providing accurate as well as effective health care services at the required time. The late delivery of the healthcare services to the patients is an important constraint or the problem that is faced by the patients and affects the healthcare sector of the countries. The study will attempt to identify the sources of blockages within the system and the effects of these bottlenecks on service provision but it will also identify strategies that can be adopted by the healthcare systems in order to avoid the late deliveries of services to ...