Abstract :

This study highlights implementing a visual management tool in the clinical process at Nethradhama Super Speciality Eye Hospital to improve staff and patient communication. The introduction of visible measures, such as visual standard operating procedures (SOPs), clinical pathways, and displays of performance metrics, facilitated cross-functional communication, streamlined workflows, and enhanced safety practices. The study analyzes the impact of these initiatives on key performance indicators and patient satisfaction. The results demonstrate improvements in the revenue value index, infection rates, complication rates, patient satisfaction, and increased outpatient visits and surgeries.

Organization Profile

Nethradhama Super Speciality Eye Hospital is a renowned institution dedicated to delivering high-quality eye care using state-of-the-art technology and a team of highly skilled doctors. Founded in 1994 by Dr Sri Ganesh, a respected figure in the field of ophthalmology, Nethradhama started as an eye clinic and has since emerged as a global symbol of progress in ophthalmology. Our primary hospital is situated in Jayanagar, Bangalore, encompassing an OPD and a speciality block, with additional branches located in Rajajinagar, Indiranagar, Padmanabhanagar (Bangalore), and Mysore. Furthermore, Nethradhama LASIK centres can be found in Mangalore and Davangere. The Nethradhama Education & Research Foundation actively supports and sponsors academic and research initiatives, including DNB and Fellowship programs and the NSO (Nethradhama School of Optometry) affiliated with RGUHS. As part of our commitment to social responsibility, we have established SECT (Shraddha Eye Care Trust), a charitable eye hospital in Padmanabhanagar and Vasanthnagar, Bangalore. At Nethradhama, quality is the ultimate objective—a distinguishing feature of our products and services provided to our valued customers. We have fostered a continuous evaluation and improvement culture to ensure quality assurance, employing qualitative measures, root cause analysis, and practical improvement techniques.

Introduction

• The process owners identified a challenge in training staff on departmental Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in patient care areas. Senior leaders recognized the need for a standardized, transparent, and easily understandable workplace for staff and patients. As a solution, management introduced a visual management tool that was adopted by senior leaders and implemented in all departments.

  Visual management serves as a means of communication, providing a quick overview of daily operations. It involves utilizing visuals to make the workplace more efficient. This approach facilitates the smooth flow of information and makes operational standards visible, thus reducing waste. The implementation used the 5W1H (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How) framework, completed within five minutes.

  The initiatives undertaken involved

  • Enhancing compliance with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
  • Emphasizing the importance of updating good clinical practice guidelines.

  The staff was aware of key performance indicators (KPIs) and continuous quality improvement (CQI) indicators, and their trends were analyzed to benchmark best practices.

The problem was related to patient care areas, visually represented through flow diagrams. Patient and staff satisfaction levels measured the effectiveness of the initiatives. These efforts were managed as a hospital-wide initiative led by the senior leadership team.

Methods :

To address the need for demonstrating a standardized workplace and performance outputs, the following methodologies were implemented: