Hospitals are subject to enormous cost pressure. Good and effective process management is needed to save time so that processes do not have to be executed twice, gaps are filled or unfavourable structures in the hospital system are uncovered and eliminated. This also benefits the employees, who no longer have to tolerate so much stress and frustration. However, process adjustments and optimizations should not be carried out by external consultants, since hospital employees who are experienced enough and know the hospital’s daily routine very well can better intervene in interdisciplinary interaction at all process levels. For this purpose, however, they should create a so-called process map, which highlights the specific core processes such as research, teaching, and the diagnostic and therapeutic areas of patient care, all of which are interrelated, and analyses where something might not be working properly. Only through this transparency and the subsequent process optimisation on the wards, in the operating theatre and in the administration can potential be uncovered and then work processes can be made more effective by changing the framework conditions through competent employees. However, process optimization should follow certain rules, such as adherence to quality standards and the obligation to document procedures. A loss of information must also be avoided, then nothing stands in the way of good process management.
