Module 1 – Case

Process Management and Productivity

Assignment Overview

Case: Massachusetts General Hospital’s Pre-admission Testing Area (PATA)

McCarty, Kelsey, Gallien, et al. (2012, January 3). Massachusetts General Hospital's Pre-admission Testing Area (PATA). MIT Sloan School of Management. Case: 11–116. Retrieved from https://mitsloan.mit.edu/LearningEdge/operations-management/PATA/Pages/default.aspx

If the hyperlink above does not work directly (you do not need toregister to MIT site), please copy the link below to your browser toopen the case page directly: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/LearningEdge/operations-management/PATA/Pages/default.aspx

The Pre-Admission Testing Area (PATA) is an outpatient clinic atMassachusetts General Hospital responsible for conducting preoperativeassessments of surgical patients prior to their procedures. Set in June2009, this case study describes the conditions of this busy outpatientclinic prior to a process improvement effort by a collaborative team ofMIT Sloan students and faculty and MGH clinicians and administrativestaff. It also examines the complete PATA experience from both thepatient and provider perspective. The importance of improving PATA isemphasized through a description of how this relatively small clinic hasa very large downstream effect on the MGH operating rooms and theentire perioperative care system.

You are required to review the entire case study informationavailable at the reference above and write a paper based on thesuggested case questions below.

Case Assignment

1. Construct a process flow diagram of the PATA visit from a patient'sperspective. Calculate the capacity and utilization rate at each step inthe process.
2. Use capacity analysis tools (build-up diagrams or/and queuing) todecide if and where there is a bottleneck in the clinic. If a bottleneckdoes indeed exist, how long do patients wait as a result of thebottleneck? (As an approximation, assume that all appointment slots werefilled and patients arrived on time.)
3. Evaluate the three Task Force diagnoses – not enough time betweenappointments, not enough rooms, not enough physicians. Are thesediagnoses valid? If so, are they primary contributors to long patientwait times? Why or why not?
4. What factors contribute to variability in PATA process flow and what control, if any, does the clinic have to eliminate it?
5. What changes would you recommend to improve PATA?

Assignment Expectations

• Use the information provided in the Background readings. Please do any additional research as necessary.
• Review the information in PATA case study and become familiar with the products and processes.
• There is no set response to the case questions, so do not hesitate to think outside the box.
• It is essential to provide a well-written paper with detailed analysis.

READ the information provided by the resources and references on theBackground page. Understand the theory and concept of process managementand productivity improvement.

NOTE: Cite the references in the Background, as well as additional references you use in your Case paper.

The report should be at least 5–6 pages and submitted by the Module 1 due date.