Healthcare is a hot topic around the world. In developed regions the strain on healthcare systems is becoming very apparent, influenced substantially by our aging populations. In North America and the United States specifically – as advanced nations evolve the provisioning of equitable healthcare for all citizens – this politically and socially charged hot potato will become more reliant on lean healthcare logistics.

In advancing nations including Brazil, China, etc. – with growing and more affluent populations and their higher standards of living demand increasing levels of healthcare services. Ever mindful of the healthcare challenges experienced by other nations, the developing nation leaders are looking for tighter integration of computer technology along with human expertise to elevate delivery of services.

Today’s pace and increasing demographics now plague healthcare systems. Inherent inefficiencies, brought about by expanding demands on systems not geared nor designed for the thresholds we’re demanding today. Stresses that can stifle innovation unless we start exercising creative approaches. We all know there’s no one quick fix, that our current generation and the next generations too, must evolve its’ healthcare systems to attain the levels of care we have come to expect.

Lean Healthcare Delivery becomes a critical concept in our creative approach for more efficient provisioning, in an ever increasingly frugal financial world. At the very least, lean healthcare concepts drive to remove unnecessary duplication of processes, testing and procedures to the point of finite planning and scheduling of predictable outcomes. In so doing, we provide the flexibility to appropriately accommodate unplanned and emergency services that we are very adept at executing.

In parts of our healthcare systems, being able to understand the timing mechanisms and their influences on the delivery of care and the quality of that care can be the difference between a fluid process; from general practitioner to lab results to specialist referral to treatment without interruption – Versus, an interrupted process, that for what ever reason lab results go stale, referrals are delayed, and so-on causing duplication and expensive critical time delays along the continuum of care. In the healthcare journey, if each primary step in the process is visible, the resources cohesively planned and the timing mechanisms for each resource understood throughout the continuum of care, we know great results are attainable.

Removing the causes of duplication can easily fund new healthcare initiatives, everywhere. By giving all stages of the healthcare process an understanding of the timing mechanisms, we can effectively resolve much of the frustration experienced in our healthcare systems.

Since 1996, custom and commercial software development groups have been consuming DBI Technologies Inc. (http://www.dbi-tech.com) snap-in, reusable Scheduling, UI and UX component software to deliver advanced healthcare systems that allow visual planning and scheduling of all resources – visually articulating the impact of a fluid, uninterrupted continuums of care. Through the provisioning of industry tested, critical path, drag and drop, visual enterprise resource planning and scheduling component software, DBI has had an envious opportunity to speak, consult, discuss, debate and understand many of the concerns from all regions of the world. It has been a fascinating journey to understand the cultural differences from one region to the next and to see the commonalities we are all faced with today and challenged to solve.

We need to continue challenging ourselves, to look at the situation from various perspectives – we have all the metrics to make good decisions, to understand the impacts across the continuum of care – if we don’t communicate the timing mechanisms, make visible the impacts causing needless delays and duplication we have missed the opportunity of a life time.

By deploying visible, multi – resource based planning and scheduling systems across the healthcare enterprise, we empower the healthcare professionals we hold accountable, with the tools to effect positive results.

We have the technologies, the skills and the resources to effect visual, schedule-based communication mechanisms that are simple to understand, that are viewed as everyday tools, and that are common and not something from outer-space, using a presentation medium that allows every practitioner along the process to see, to communicate, to comprehend the critical path for success.