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Virginia Mason Medical Center Case Study

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Virginia Mason Medical Center
Case study

Question 1
How could TPS be used to solve the problems that Kaplan was facing at VMMC?
VMMC was facing several critical issues when Kaplan assumed leadership of the organization: * High number of competitors in same geographic area * Lost substantial amount of money for the first time * Low morale among staff
While Kaplan had implemented some changes to cut costs, he really needed to identify systematic ways to improve the quality of service and differentiate VMMC from its competitors. This is where TPS would prove valuable. Instead of being just another approach by management to create a more cost effective organization, TPS focuses on creating a culture of teamwork with the ultimate goal of delivering the highest quality service possible to the customer. And as a result of this focus on improvement, eventually costs are reduced. And lastly, TPS involves employees in the process and shifts the focus of management to the role of facilitator. Ideally these changes would undo some of the damage from past strategic innovations at VMMC and increase the staff morale.

Why does TPS work at VMMC, while other similar approaches, i.e. TQM, have failed?
The healthcare industry presents an interesting challenge: the relationship between the hospital and the physicians who work there. Historically the VMMC had a very difficult relationship with its physicians because they felt entitled to do what they wanted while it was the administration’s responsibility to shield them from extraneous tasks. Kaplan wanted to change this relationship to make the physicians part of the team. His first effort to create this change was the creation of the Physician Compact which placed a strong emphasis on two key attributes: patients, and collaboration with colleagues.

Relationship between Administration and Physicians

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