Lean Six Sigma Applications to the Healthcare Sector

Lean Six Sigma certification tools have been successfully applied to the manufacturing industry. Its application to the healthcare industry is not an easy one, but it can be tailor-made to suit the requirements of this industry.

High amounts of cost, poor customer satisfaction, complex IT solutions, nursing shortages and malpractice lawsuits are some problems that the industry is struggling with.

With Lean Six Sigma tools, healthcare organizations can aim towards reducing the waste and idle time. Patients often spend more time waiting to receive medical care. Lean tools can be utilized to reduce the turnover time in the operating room and provide good value service to the patients.

Additionally, Lean Six Sigma certification tools can be used to ensure that there are no errors and rework. There can be no one standard procedure for dealing with patients. However, efforts can be made to ensure the timely application of simple common procedures in certain situations, like heart attacks.

By ensuring what most heart attack patients need in the very beginning, like giving the patient an aspirin or beta blocker, there are things that can be done, at the moment that they are necessary.

Reducing defects is another major area for hospitals. By their very nature, hospitals have high defect rates. If these are brought down, it means much better services for patients. Lean Six Sigma certification initiatives are aimed at reduction of the defects, which means high level improvements in billing, discharge procedures, operating room standard procedures and so on.

Some Important Tools for the Health Care Sector

One very relevant tool is the Pull system and flow to improve support areas such as labs and intensive care units, which are highly important places. For labs where there is extensive paperwork involved, Lean concepts are highly relevant. Even in case of an open heart surgery, there can be application of Lean tools, from before admitting to the discharge process.

There are many sub-level processes between these as well, such as admitting, finance, sterilization of equipments and tools, lab and pharmacy orders, and maintenance of the equipment used. This will result in standard steps being followed, which would be responsible for the elimination of errors and defects.

FMEA and SMED are two very relevant tools which can actually make the difference between life and death. By using SMED and FMEA, an evaluation of the high risk areas can be done.  Systems can then be put into place which will help eliminate or handle these carefully, leading to high quality service for patients. 5S can make a big difference in this area.

By undertaking a reorganization of nursing areas and other workplaces, greater efficiency in these services will result.  Poka–Yoke proves to be extremely useful in reducing errors and omissions.

Lean tools are not meant to change clinical medical or nursing procedures. Its sole aim is to eliminate waste in various tasks, so that with reduction in defects and non-value adding processes, more time can be dedicated for patient care.

This will mean high level of patient, physician and employee satisfaction.