The October 2015 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety features a case study on the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Value Institute Experience, which focuses on a performance improvement-focused workforce.
The initiative leaders interviewed stakeholders from throughout the organization to define the scope of work and develop performance improvement competency. The initiative was also designed to support infrastructure and executing improvement projects.
Here are five key notes on the project:
1. More than 10 percent of employees were trained at the "Yellow Belt" level in VI classes in the first 20 months after launch.
2. There were around 1.5 percent of al employees who became advanced practitioners — Green Belt or Black Belt.
3. The project improvements focus both on clinical and business process optimization as well as regulatory and accreditation compliance.
4. In the first two years, the project savings from the operation exceeded the investment resources to establish the Value Institute by two-and-a-half times.
5. The study authors concluded the team-based learning and coaching provides "sufficient depth and breadth of learning and effective opportunities to gain practical experience in continuous improvement."