The National Health Service of Scotland Hires the Institute for Healthcare Optimization to Improve Efficiency, Access and Quality of Care

BOSTON, April 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Institute for Healthcare Optimization (IHO) has been awarded a three year grant from NHS National Services Scotland to implement a nationwide patient-flow initiative to improve their healthcare delivery system, and to build a sustainable platform for wide scale adoption of IHO's methodology.

Over the next three years, IHO will guide NHS Scotland leaders, managers, and clinicians on technical, methodological, and change-management issues to ensure wide-scale adoption of IHO Variability Methodology that has been proven to significantly improve quality of care and hospital financial performance at leading US and Canadian hospitals such as the Mayo Clinic Florida, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, the Ottawa Hospital and Cincinnati Children's Medical Center. Most recently, IHO's methodology has demonstrated significant quality and cost improvements in the fourteen-hospital patient flow redesign collaborative in New Jersey under the Partnership for Patients project sponsored by the U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

"I have been very clear that we need to improve the way that patients flow through our hospitals, and these innovative models will help to test new ways of improving how the NHS operates. I am keen that Scotland can continue to lead the way in pioneering work to improve care for our patients, and this work will help to ensure that health boards are managing their capacity and ensuring that patients are not kept in hospital unnecessarily. Improving flow throughout the whole system will help to free up beds and ensure patients can be put in the most appropriate ward for their treatment," said health secretary Alex Neil.

Beginning at NHS Forth Valley, the initiative aims to effectively manage variability in patient flow to reduce waiting time and improve access and care for patients. After Forth Valley, the initiative will be introduced at Scotland's other leading health boards, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Tayside and the Borders. After implementation at the initial four selected health boards, the program will then be rolled out to all other health boards across Scotland.

Peter Murdoch, MD, medical director of NHS Forth Valley, said, "We are delighted to be involved in this project which aims to ensure patients get the right care, at the right time in the right place. We are bringing together a local team to work with colleagues from the Institute of Healthcare Optimization in Boston to help shape and support this important initiative and explore how we can use their experience to help further improve the way we design and deliver services in Forth Valley."

"IHO is committed to helping NHS Scotland fully realize their vision of safer, more effective patient-centered care. NHS Scotland's pioneer status in patient safety, and experience in nationwide quality improvement projects combined with IHO's expertise in achieving sustainable improvements in healthcare quality and efficiency through optimal management of patient flow make this collaboration especially exciting," stated Eugene Litvak, PhD, president and CEO of IHO.

About IHO

The Institute for Healthcare Optimization  (IHO) is an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) research, education and service organization that brings together knowledge of operations science with clinical, analytic, and organizational expertise to drive practical, high-impact improvements in healthcare.

The mission of the Institute is to serve as a catalyst and to provide a vehicle for spreading the application of operations management and patient flow variability management techniques across the broader hospital community, as well as other parts of the healthcare delivery system. For more information, visit IHO's Web site at www.ihoptimize.org.

SOURCE Institute for Healthcare Optimization