Hospital Pharmacy Decreased Policy Development Time By 50% With GLSS
Georgia
Healthcare
Admin
50%
- The problem: Pharmacy staff spent 4 hours developing a single policy, exceeding their goal of 2 hours. With many policies to create, this slowed progress to become operational.
- To tackle the delays, they teamed up with GLSS’s Green Belt Training & Certification to create a smarter, smoother, and faster development process that took 2 hours, building momentum toward becoming operational.
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In healthcare, having clear, up-to-date policies isn’t just helpful—it’s essential. Hospitals depend on well-written procedures to ensure patient safety, meet regulatory requirements, and keep operations running smoothly. But creating those policies can often become a slow, complicated process. That was the situation at one hospital in Newman, Georgia, where the dispensary team was working hard to become a fully operational pharmacy.
The dispensary’s policy development process was dragging far longer than it should have. Each policy took around 4 hours to complete, more than double their 2-hour goal. Most policies went through multiple revisions, stretching out timelines and frustrating the team.
Just the review stage could last anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes. Revisions often took another 30 to 90 minutes, and finalizing the document added an additional 15 to 45 minutes. These delays created a bottleneck that not only slowed the pharmacy’s progress toward full functionality, they also put the organization at risk of falling behind on critical compliance standards.
Knowing that success depended on faster, more reliable policy work, the team turned to GLSS Green Belt Training & Certification. The training provided a hands-on, step-by-step approach using the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) framework. With tools, coaching, and real examples, the team gained the skills to zero in on the root causes and get results.
With the help of GLSS, the team conducted a detailed analysis to uncover why the policy process was so time-consuming. Here’s what they found:
- Balancing different expert perspectives often meant going back and forth several times before a final decision could be made.
- Each policy scenario had to be validated separately, adding time to ensure accuracy and compliance.
- Some policies were based on assumptions, which didn’t always align with regulatory standards, leading to rewrites.
- Subject matter experts (SMEs) weren’t always involved early enough, which caused delays and last-minute changes.
- Staff receiving policies needed time to get up to speed on the current process, making transitions between steps less efficient.
Once the problems were clear, the team jumped into action with practical solutions inspired by GLSS Training:
- They developed standardized handoff documents to make it easier for team members to pick up where others left off.
- Cross-functional handoff workshops were introduced to boost communication and reduce confusion across departments.
- They made sure subject matter experts (SMEs) were brought in early to provide input upfront and prevent unnecessary rework.
- A detailed requirements template was created so each policy started with the right information, saving time later.
These changes weren’t complicated, but they made a big impact.
Thanks to these improvements, the team cut policy development time from 4 hours down to 2 hours—a 50% reduction! The new system allowed for smoother transitions, better understanding between departments, and fewer back-and-forth edits.
With less wasted time and more structure in place, the dispensary team gained the momentum they needed to move closer to their goal of becoming a fully operational pharmacy.
with GLSS
The hospital’s decision to invest in GLSS Green Belt Training & Certification paid off in a big way. The program’s easy-to-follow structure, interactive content, and focus on real-world results helped the team make smart changes quickly.
By simplifying handoffs, front-loading expert input, and setting clear expectations from the start, the team created a smoother, smarter policy development process. And that success has positioned the dispensary — and the entire organization — for even bigger achievements ahead.
Thanks to GLSS, the hospital now has the tools, knowledge, and confidence to keep improving, meet compliance goals, and deliver even better care to its community.
*We value our clients’ confidentiality. While we’ve changed their names, the results are real.
