capacity planning

The complexity surrounding healthcare costs is reflected in the terminology used to identify the various transaction points. This complexity is largely a product of having multiple participating parties—the patient, the provider organization, and the “third-party” payer (insurer). 

There is no clear relationship on how costs relate to the “charge,” or the “price,” that health care providers put on the bill. This is because it would take an organization an extreme amount of time to clearly define the relationship of a charge to assigned categories such as “patient check-in”, “insurance verification”, “treatment planning”. It is not impossible to complete an entire patient pathway from consultation request to patient follow-up, but it would be time consuming for most healthcare administrators. 

This is where US Cancer Specialists excels, mapping out the entire care pathway for each diagnosis and associated other departmental patient visits, accounting for direct observation of each “labor input,” i.e., the number of person-hours involved in completing each task for an episode, as well as accounting for the costs of space, non-consumable equipment, and administrative overhead on a minute-to-minute basis. 

In return for working with US Cancer Specialists, your organization will receive the quantitative data on true cost and utilization, allowing you to make more informed decisions on your pricing structure, budgets, staffing, equipment and facilities. A thorough evaluation will consist of the following:

• Create an accurate baseline model of your center’s operations and financials. (Cost Actualization)
• Review key data within the baseline, identifying areas of opportunity and reducing waste. (LEAN)
• Simulate new strategies/technologies prior to deployment (LEAN Six Sigma) 
• Quantify process improvements. (Six Sigma)