Negative result
The pinch of mounting financial pressure in the Dutch healthcare sector was clearly felt by one particular department of a university hospital. They commissioned Vintura to develop a series of scenarios to help them turn years of financial losses into profits, as the client’s previous attempts to this end had been unsuccessful. They requested that, rather than considering financial measures alone, we also reflect on the organisational structure that would be required to safeguard and further develop these measures.
Supported analysis
Throughout the process, we focused on three aspects: the allocation of resources, the portfolio, and organisation and management. We worked closely with both the hospital’s finance department and its medical staff, sharing our findings with them, refining this analysis where necessary, and providing our conclusions. External medical experts were also engaged to assess the feasibility of the measures.
We then worked with management, medical staff and the finance department to define realistic scenarios for improving performance in a short, intensive process.
Tangible and realistic measures
We found that improving performance was certainly a viable objective. The measures we set are concrete, targeted and realistic, and combined they contribute to a significant improvement in performance. Together we were able to facilitate even greater performance improvements than are strictly necessary, thereby creating new room for investment.
At least as important as the financial measures are the proposed measures for organisation and management, which give the management and medical staff greater control over and insight into their performance. The prospect is for a financially sound department which is free to further improve the quality of its medical services.
