Recommendations for Using the Proposed ERP Framework

Use the ERP framework to guide the ERP design decisions. By applying the framework, it is possible to estimate the economic impact of the surgical pathway redesign.

Educate health-care professionals about the designed ERP. Applying the framework, including the TDABC methodology, requires a multidisciplinary team approach, helping clinicians learn about finance and the administrators and financial analysts to learn about clinical care pathways.

Support the continuous improvement cycle. Applying the proposed framework with the DMAIC cycle in mind and involving multidisciplinary groups can help identify opportunities to make the care cycle more efficient.

Minimize unnecessary variability and move toward care standardization. By applying the TDABC methodology and detailing care cycles that identify the resources necessary to provide high-quality care to patients, standards of care are defined.

Utilize data to monitor the pathway financial results continuously. Once the framework is applied to support the redesign incorporation decision, it must be frequently updated in a structured manner to provide real-world data to administrators and guide economic choices that increase the value delivered through the surgical pathways.

Utilize the framework to bring internal and external transparency to the management of surgical pathways, especially in middle-income countries where databases that collect outcomes are beginning to be utilized. Share the results with payers and internal teams, highlighting the benchmarks identified and encourage them to achieve better health outcomes and economic impacts.