Massachusetts General Hospital's Pre-Admission Testing Area (PATA)
Preparation Questions:
Please carefully read the case. Indeed, you likely will need to read it several times. And pay attention to the footnotes, as often important information is contained therein.
In preparation for the class, consider the following questions:
- What is the perspective of the key stakeholders involved in PATA's current operational performance?
- Draw a process flow diagram of the PATA patient visit process. Calculate the capacity and utilization rate for each key resource involved. Where is the clinic's bottleneck?
- Evaluate the three task force diagnoses: 1) not enough time between appointments; 2) not enough rooms; and 3) not enough physicians. Are these diagnoses valid? If so, are they the primary contributors to long patient wait times? Why or why not?
- What factors contribute to variability in PATA process flow and what control, if any, does the clinic have to eliminate it?
- What changes would you recommend to improve PATA?