About this Presentation
This presentation shows the results of a collaboration between a medical practitioner, Christopher Strear, and an academic, Danilo Sirias, proposing a practical approach to implementing TOC to improve patient flow. This collaboration started after Chris, without any TOC training (just reading the Goal), applied the 5 Focusing Steps to a hospital where inpatient lengths of stay were too long, and the ED was closed to ambulance traffic for 60 hours every month, on average, due to overcrowding. Within months of applying TOC to the hospital's system, they had virtually eliminated ambulance diversion. Their rates of patients who left without being seen rate in the ED fell sharply, and inpatient length of stay was reduced to levels below the national benchmark. This was accomplished during a devastating influenza epidemic, a period of record ED patient volumes, record ambulance traffic, and record numbers of admissions. Danilo found this case while doing a literature review of TOC cases in healthcare and contacted Chris. Their work and the potential applications of TOC to improve patient flow has been published in the book titled: Smash the Bottleneck: Fixing Patient Flow for Better Care.
What Will You Learn
To help you get the most value from this session, we’ve highlighted a few key points. These takeaways capture the main ideas and practical insights from the presentation, making it easier for you to review, reflect, and apply what you’ve learned.
Instructor(s)
Jennifer Eckman
Ms Alka Wadhwa
Alka Wadhwa is an experienced consultant and process improvement expert with over 24 years of expertise in the Theory of Constraints (TOC), Lean Six Sigma, and organizational performance optimization. She has successfully led projects in healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing, driving significant improvements such as a 67% boost in hospital operations and a 140% increase in outpatient visits.
Previously, Alka Wadhwa spent 17+ years at GE Global Research Center, where she led initiatives to enhance various GE businesses through advanced technologies, process redesign, and system optimization. Founder of Better Solutions Consulting, LLC, she specializes in using TOC, Six Sigma, and data analytics to streamline operations and build high-performance teams.
Her work has earned her multiple accolades, including the Empire State Award of Excellence in healthcare.
Dr Gary Wadhwa
Dr. Gary Wadhwa is a Board Certified Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon with extensive experience in the field. He completed his Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery training at Montefiore Hospital, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY, and has served as an Attending at prestigious institutions like St. Peters Hospitals, Ellis Hospital, and Beth Israel Hospital in NY. With a career spanning over two decades, he was the former CEO and President of a group specialty practice in NY from 1994 to 2015. Dr. Wadhwa holds an MBA from UT at Knoxville, TN, and has undergone additional training in System Dynamics at MIT, Health System Management at Harvard Business School, and Entrepreneurship and healthcare innovations at Columbia Business School. Committed to expanding access to Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery care, he is currently engaged in a meaningful project to provide healthcare services to underserved populations in inner city and rural areas through non-profit Community Health Centers.