Reducing health care costs through optimised facility management‐related processes

The German health care system is in dire straits financially. The costs of stationary patient care in hospitals are prohibitive. Currently, 30 per cent of hospital costs are a result of facility related processes, a percentage representing the equivalent of more than €14bn annually. Optimising facility‐related processes in hospitals has the potential to incur major savings and improve medical processes at the same time ‐ meeting the strategic need to reduce health care costs without having a negative impact on the quality of the core competencies and processes of hospitals. This paper presents the findings of the OPIK research project, which analysed the interaction between primary (medical) and secondary (facility management) business processes in six hospitals, with a view to identifying a holistic approach and comprehensive framework for evaluating business processes to ensure their optimisation.