Enterprise Excellence Consulting

Lean techniques have been introduced successfully during just the past few years in the Healthcare Industry. Hospitals and Clinics are realizing that their business can also gain from using the very same tools and techniques created by Toyota in their TPS. Results will vary from business to business, however you should expect double digit improvements in key metrics of Quality, Safety, Cost and Delivery.

There are some excellent new books published that document what some of the Lean pioneers are doing in Healthcare. The Lean Healthcare Pocket Guide XL by Debra Hadfield, RN MSM is a great book with Case Studies to support changes. Also we recommend A3 Problem Solving for Healthcare by Cindy Jimmerson as she outlines her use of this tool in linking other Lean tools with more case studies in hospitals.

Utilizing the A3 document as a problem solving guide is proving to be very useful in this industry. Healthcare can also benefit from the Value Stream Mapping tools to draw up their processes from the patient flow to the admitting process to the flow of materials consumed during patient treatment. 5S is also very applicable in Healthcare as the organization of the workplace is key to helping workers become more efficient with less stress and workload. Set-up reduction can provide improvements in setting up surgeries, patient rooms, and even recovery areas. The principle of Standard Work is probably the best tool to document the best way of performing any job then assuring that it is standardized for all healthcare workers to follow so the results are always the same.

All of these tools and more can be applied to improve the quality of care for the patient, to lower costs and to streamline the work flow for the healthcare providers.

As in the case of any continuous improvement initiative, there must be a top down champion that fully believes and supports the actions taken to make change happen.

This one principle of top down leadership is imperative as we all know that change is difficult and sometimes has to be pushed until it can support itself from the bottom up. Just wishing things will get better or just trying harder will not suffice in today's tough economic times. Once the momentum takes control of the improvement process the results will speak for themselves.

 Contact us today to schedule an assessment of your Healthcare business and how EEC can get you started on your continuous improvement journey now.

Initial consultations are free, so call us to schedule an appointment.