Applying Project Management Methodology in Patient Centered Care Projects/Programs

Patient Centered Care concept is gathering momentum across the globe. Healthcare providers have started recognizing the importance of enhancing patient Experience. Various Projects as given below can be undertaken to improve patient centered care;

·         Patient Flow Optimization
·         Reducing Patient Waiting Time
·         Patient Experience Surveys
·         Setting up Pre-Operating Screening Clinic
·         Improving Discharge Process

To get the best outcome from the projects, it is recommended to apply a standard project management methodology.

Project Management Methodology

1.      Project Initiation Stage

•      Project Brief/Mandate

•      Feasibility Study – market research and technical feasibility

•      Project Business Case

•      Project Charter

•      Project Scope

2.      Project Planning Stage

•      Project Schedule or Plan

•      WBS/Activities/Tasks

•      Resource Identification and Assigning

•      Identifying Major Milestones

3.      Project Execution/Delivery Stage (Solution Development & Implementation)

•      Data Collection & Analysis

•      Demand & Capacity Modeling

•      Requirements Gathering and Analysis

•      Current State and Future State Process Mapping

•      Gap Analysis

•      Co-Design/Develop Solutions

•      Solution Approval

•      Testing/Pilot

•      Training Staff

•      Implementation

•      Onsite Support

4.      Project Closing Stage

•      Performance Monitoring & Review

•      Ensuring Sustainability

•      Handing Over Products/ Solutions to Operations Team

•      Developing Project Handover Report

•      Project Closure

For the greater clarity, below, I am giving an example of applying project management methodology in Restructuring Outpatient Clinic Project;

Project Title: Restricting Outpatient Clinics

(Steps based on project management methodology)

1.      Project Initiation Stage

•      Develop Project Charter

•      Develop Project Scope & Business Case

2. Project Planning Stage

•      Developing Project Plan

•      Work Breakdown

•      Assigning Resources

•      Developing Communication Plan

3.      Project Execution/Delivery Stage

•      Data Gathering and Data Analysis

•      Current Process Mapping

•      Future Process Mapping

•      Gap Analysis

•      Clinic Flow optimization

•      Clinic Restructuring

•      Clinic Building (Medicom)

•      Data Migration

•      Overbooking, Evening Clinics

•      Reducing Appointment Wait Time

•      Patient Referral Management

•      Center – call & SMS

•      Qmatic System

•      Patient Registration

•      Nurse Assessment

•      Doctor Consultation

•      Lab, X-Ray

•      Patient Re-vist for Doctor

•      End User Training

•      Project Go-Live

4.       Project Closing Stage

•      Providing Onsite Implementation Support

•      Monitoring Project Performance for 3 months

•      Reviewing Project Solution based on the Performance Review

•      Developing Capability in the hospital for the long term sustainability

•      Knowledge Transfer

•      Developing Project Closure Report

•      Handing over the project to the hospital operations team

•      Releasing Project Resources

•      Project Handover

Kolkota: a City in Ruins

Every Indian is proud of the contribution of Kolkota during the pre-Indian Independence era. Kolkota was a mould which produced the internationally acclaimed thinkers, philosophers and social reformers such as Rabindra Nath Tagore, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Subhash Chandra Bose, Satyajit Ray, JC Bose and Amartya Sen

The British made Kolkota the Capital of the East India Company and set up excellent educational institutions to churn out the white collar workers to serve under the British. Kolkota was the first city in India which offered modern education. This turned out to be counter productive as the educated crowd became aware of democracy and human rights. They started demanding the freedom of the country from the English. During the Indian Independence movement, Kolkota was considered as the the intellectual hub of India which produced great revolutionaries.

After the Independence of India, Delhi was made the capital of India and eventually the other cities in India got developed. The successive governments in Bengal were not interested in further developing Kolkota and they vehemently stood against the Industrialization of Kolkota. The political leaders were only interested in gathering votes from the rural population of Bengal and treated Kolkota just as a cash-cow.

Due to the restrictive environment, the existing industries got relocated to the other cities which were more business friendly. Thus Kolkota remained standstill. The government neglected renovating the existing infrastructure and failed to develop new infrastructure. This has left the city in a dying condition with the crumbling infrastructure.

Both the central and state governments need to wake up from the long slumber and initiate infrastructure development in Kolkota, so that the lost glory of the city can be regained. 

Can Fight between Parents Cause Negative Impact on Kids?

Most the kids consider their parents as role models. Prolonged marital quarrels can wreak havoc on the psychological well-being of children. This is not only just a familiar issue but a social issue at large, as this will prevent children becoming good social citizens.

There are many contributing factors to parental fight. Financial crisis causes the parental fight. The salary is not increasing at par with the rising inflation and it would be hard to meet the financial needs which causes disappointment and the subsequent fight. Unachievable expectations also lead to the parental fight. The other reason of the parental fight is lack of time to complete all the household chores and it would be all the more be true in the families where both the parents work.

Constant fight in the family will prevent the wholesome development of kids. Kids will get scared seeing the verbal and the physical abuse among the parents and might not get good sleep. Kids will also get distracted and will not concentrate in studies. Kids coming from such families may experience trust deficient and will have difficulty in forging friendships.

Various strategies should be adopted to resolve this issue. Parents should be empathetic to each other and should believe that they are one team and not enemies. Both should understand that nobody is perfect and if any constructive feedback to be given, it should be done with great kindness without offending the other.

Parents have a great responsibility in molding their kids into well-developed adults. This can only be achieved by creating a conducive atmosphere at home by minimizing disturbances caused by family quarrels. This would aid in the psycho-social development of children.

Nature

Nature is a gift given to us and we have the responsibility to preserve it. Nature is the greatest contributor in the universe. Nature is what balances life in the universe. Nature provides oxygen, food and water to us.

We have a moral responsibility to protect Nature and to leave it to the next generation intact. Nature is not something that we made but was given to us a gift for our use during our stay on the earth. We don’t have the right to destroy it as this is a free gift received only for our use in a careful manner.

Deforestation is alarmingly high and the illegal logging industry is thriving across the globe. In some places, wild fires are created to make logging easier. This further, compounds the problem. Citizens and governments should intervene to stop deforestation.

Global warming also affects Nature negatively. Increased carbon footprints will make many species go extinct both among trees and animals. Nature’s fury of it is manifested through climate change. Fossil energy may give short term benefits but will cause long term irreparable damage to the earth. Businesses should be encouraged to adopt clean and renewable energy to fight this menace.

To ensure the ecological balance, along with stopping deforestation and reducing the global warming, we need to plant more trees. There should be both citizen and government participation in promoting Nature preservation. Governments should increase the number of parks with trees in the urban areas. Water harvesting should be made mandatory for every household by governments.

Through different ways we can stop deforestation and reduce the global warming. Every citizen should take the equal responsibility in preserving Nature. If we take care of Nature, Nature will take care of us. 

Humility

Every human being should try to be humble. Humble people are liked by all. Some may argue that being humble will not add anything in commanding social respect. They think that it is good to display one’s strength to have a great social standing. They see humility as a stumbling block in becoming a modern person. I differ from that view. I personally think that humility is a good virtue and everybody should strive to develop it.

Humble people are positive and always appreciates the achievements of others. Humble people see the positive elements in other people. This improves the rapport and contributes in developing long term associations with others.

Humble people are stress-free. They are not easily affected by the ups and downs in life. They are well grounded and know that these conditions are transient and would pass eventually. As they are not materialistic, lack of material things don’t bother them. They have transcended those and live for higher purpose in life.

Great leaders were always humble. This helped them to forge very close relationships with their followers. Humility made them to be transparent and fair in their approach. Humility helped them to accept their own shortcomings and they worked on those and overcame them. For instance, Mahatma Gandhi was a very humble person and he hailed humility as the virtue of the strong and not the weak.

Humble people are positive and have a wider perspective about life. They appreciate the achievements of others sincerely. They are contended with what they have and enjoy the life in full. In summary, all should develop humility as this broadens the outlook. Humility is not an unattainable virtue. If there is a will, there is a way.

Which is better for the Economy, Inflation or Deflation?

Inflation is the product of economic boom. During inflation, the spending power goes up and this directly increases the price of commodities and eventually erodes the value of currency as there is a lot of money in circulation in the economy during inflation. To address this the government cuts down the public expenditure and creates credit crunch by being very strict in giving away business loans.

Deflation is the product or the sign of economic recession. During recession the people cut down the expenditure and this leads to decreased circulation of money in the economy. During recession the spending power goes down and the price of the commodities also decrease and the economy goes into gloom. To address this issue the government increases the public expenditure (builds more social infrastructure such as road, bridges etc) and creates more jobs which in turn will increase the money circulation in the economy. Also at this stage the government will be very liberal in giving out loans to business to increase the circulation of money.

Neither of these are good for the economy. The governments aim to strike a perfect balance.

Benefits of Buying a Resale Apartment (flat, condominium, house) in India over a New One

It is always better to go for a 2 bhk which is easy to rent as tenants always prefer only 2 bhk and as well great for self use and will be easy to sell in the future. You can get a 5 year old 2 bhk in the same size and price (700 sq and less than 50 lakh including taxes and registration and car park, completed with Occupancy certificate - risk free) instead of a new 1 bhk size (under construction or just completed without OC - high risk), as apartments were sold based on carpet area or built up area then instead of the current super-built up concept with an additional 40% load. Now with demonetization, the secondary market price is down by (30 to 50%) and the primary market price is down by 10% 30% in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore. Even if the price remains same as in 5 years back, adjusted against inflation, the price is corrected by 50%. 

If the loan was already availed and closed for the resale property, it will be easy to process loan from the same bank as they already have most the papers related to the property in the system. Even if you have money, better to take a loan as bank will check the all the papers of the property and instance of cheating will be less and you can pay off the loan after 6 months without paying any pre-closure charges. Also as the inflation is same as the interest rate, they cancel out each other. It is better to buy than rent as emi will equal to rent in the long run and you will end up with an asset. Real estate is the best hedge against inflation in India. Given the construction cost of Rs. 2000 to Rs. 3000 per sq ft and incorporating the land value, anything above 50 lakh is not value for money for a 2 bhk and will take more than 10 years to recover that cost. Always check and verify the land title, encumbrance certificate of last 15 years, commencement certificate and occupancy certificate before buying any property.

What is the contribution of Art and how can Art be revived?

The origin of art can be traced back to the origin of mankind. Many appreciate the value of investing in art, whereas some others may argue that the money spent on art is a waste and should be redirected to do research in science and technology. I personally believe that art can play a major role in preserving the culture of a society and there is a need to promote it.

Art contributes to the society in various ways. First and foremost, the culture and the knowledge are handed over to the next generation through the work of art. When we look at the historical structures, it is evident that people living during those times used scientific principles. For instance when we look at the pyramids in Egypt it is clear that the structure is built using the theory of trigonometry. Secondly, art provides entertainment to tourists. Tourists generally visit museums to see historical artifacts. In addition to the entertainment, the artifacts also give information on the way of life in a particular era.

There are different ways of reviving art. Mainly, art can be revived by providing incentives to artists for their work. Secondly, the interest in art can be encouraged by recognizing the contribution of artists in the society. Furthermore, the art can be revived by acknowledging art as a major field of study and allocating adequate funding towards it by the government.

Art has made enormous contributions to our society in passing on knowledge from one generation to the next.  Art can be promoted by increasing the government spending. In summary, there is a need to preserve the art and the government and citizens should make sufficient efforts in ensuring the same. 

Advantages and the Disadvantages of Renting a House (flat, condominium or apartment)

Housing is a common human necessity irrespective of which country one lives in. Many people face the dilemma regarding whether to buy or rent a house? There are both benefits as well as drawbacks in renting a house.

The main advantage of renting a house is that one does not have to worry about saving for the huge down payment required for buying a house. For example one of my friends who did not have any savings, went ahead with renting a house as this was the easiest option available for him. Secondly when one rents, that person does not have to pay any property tax. Finally if one rents, while moving to another city, he does not have to worry about selling the house.

The major drawback of renting a house is that the landlord can ask you to vacate the house by giving a short notice and it will be difficult to arrange another good house on rent within such a short duration. I came to know that a tenant was asked to vacate the house within one day’s notice and that caused huge inconvenience. Another drawback of renting a house is that one will not be able to build an asset over the time, utilizing the monthly outgoes.

Renting not only relieves one from the financial commitment but also from paying the property tax. If the monthly outgoes were to go into paying the mortgage, the person does not have to worry about changing rental houses frequently. Though renting a house has both benefits as well as demerits, the decision should be made based on the economic soundness and the preference of an individual in the order of priority.

The Giant Tree, Kottiyoor, Kannur, Kerala, India

The Giant Tree Hidden at Kottiyoor Temple, Kannur, Kerala, India (one of the UNESCO Global Biodiversity Hotspots).

How to reach there: Take a taxi from Thalassery Railway station and drive to Kottiyoor 56 KM distance. From Kannur Railway station, drive to Kottiyoor 67 KM.

Kottiyoor is an animal wild sanctuary as well.

Being or Nothing?

There has been a perennial quest to know the nature of the Being (God or the underlying substance of everything made of). Philosophers down the line tried to define the nature of Being. Some held the view that Being is being (unchanging) whereas some others held it as becoming (changing). Still there were some revolutionary thinkers who held the unconventional view of Being as Nothing (non-existing).

Definition of Philosophy

Etymology: The word Philosophy is derived from two Greek words Philia which means love and Sophia which mean knowledge. Thus philosophy of means love of knowledge.

Definitions Philosophy can be defined as the quest for knowledge or pursuit after wisdom.

Philosophy is:

1. The study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, esp. when considered as an academic discipline.
2. A set of views and theories of a particular philosopher concerning such study or an aspect of it.

Philosophy is: 

1. The attempt to acquire knowledge by rational means about topics that do not seem amenable to empirical investigation.
2. Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline.
3. Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods.