Leading Ancillary and Support Departments to Higher Performance: The New Service Imperative for Patient Care

When we think about who provides patient care at hospitals and health systems, physicians and nurses are often the first people who come to mind. But what about the myriad ancillary and support staff who assist--directly and indirectly--with patient care? These departments play an essential role in ensuring patient safety and shaping the patient experience.

Leading Ancillary and Support Departments to Higher Performance: The New Service Imperative for Patient Care examines the key principles for effectively and efficiently leading ancillary and support teams throughout a healthcare system. Best practices from direct patient care, as well as from diagnostic, therapeutic, and nonclinical services, offer real-world methods for measuring performance and making course corrections when needed. 

The book's opening chapters provide a broad overview of various departments and highlight the importance of these departments to the overall healthcare infrastructure. The following chapters are written by accomplished healthcare experts who identify the strategies they have employed to optimize results in their specific ancillary and support areas. Each of these chapters begins with a description of an ancillary department and then explores its structure, key services, customers, and more.

The book also offers:

• Insights on measuring productivity and implementing staffing models
• An innovative framework for improving departmental performance
• Guidance on identifying key work units and performance metrics
• Best practices in leadership and communication for ancillary and support departments
• Strategies for applying the Baldrige framework to these areas

Ancillary and support departments are essential partners in ensuring that a healthcare organization achieves its patient safety and experience goals. To be successful, healthcare leaders must understand these departments and how to optimize their performance.