If you’ve tuned into a news program or read a newspaper recently you’ve undoubtedly noticed that health care providers are struggling with increased cost, increased workload and funding cuts.
While looking for ways to deal with these problems, some health care institutions have found a possible solution in a very interesting place. Taking a page from the manufacturing industry, health care institutions are incorporating the Lean Six Sigma methodology. “Health care providers have started to understand they need to look from a process-based approach to gain efficiencies,” says Ed Siurek, Director of Quality at Corporate College. “Because of the increased scrutiny on costs, they have to find ways to keep patient care at a high level while minimizing as much process waste as possible.”
Smart Business spoke with Siurek about using Lean Six Sigma within health care institutions and its impact.
What does health care see in Lean Six Sigma?
Lean Six Sigma is a process-based set of tools. It can be applied to anything that follows or should follow a standard process. While the practice of medicine doesn’t really fall into this category, most things within a health care facility do. Think for a moment about all the administrative processes involved in running a hospital. Optimizing these not only increases efficiency, but the ancillary benefits to the staff, doctors and patients can be significant.
What’s driving this approach?
Quite simply, these organizations understand they must become more efficient in order to maintain their current business. Patient populations are continuing to grow, procedures are becoming more expensive and liabilities are a real part of everyday life. There is also the push from the ‘payers.’ Insurance companies and the federal government continue to push the industry to reduce costs.
In addition, there is the availability of information to the consumer. Consumers (or patients) have increased capabilities to understand their choices. While some individuals might not have the luxury to evaluate which facility they will use, many outpatient or elective procedure patients do. They shop for the best services available and hospital patient satisfaction results play a big role in some of these decisions. Creating the best possible patient experience means eliminating waiting times, paperwork and any other problems.
Is there a difference in the approach taken by health care versus manufacturing?
Essentially, there is no difference. Because Lean Six Sigma is a process-based tool, it can apply to any individual process. However, many health care facilities choose to use their own terminology to ease the process. Because Lean and Six Sigma are often associated with a manufacturing environment, the difference in terms and even modification of the key practices allows a smoother transition into the ultimate goal of continuous improvement.
Are there any pitfalls or obstacles to implementing this type of program in a hospital?
Many Lean Six Sigma practitioners have seen some level of resistance. Although this isn’t unusual, it is a bit different in clinical settings. Lean Six Sigma is not something to be applied to the practice of medicine, but rather to the processes within the institution. It has been applied to the transport of patients, medical billing, and redesign of work cells to optimize the flow of information and to reduce the amount of waiting by doctors, nurses and patients. If this point is carefully defined in the early stages and there is diligence in keeping a processed-based approach, individuals can see the benefits and ultimately adopt the program. Unfortunately, there have been examples where the lines between process improvement and patient care have become blurred and the program most likely fails to achieve any positive impact.
What are the benefits to using Lean Six Sigma in health care?
Lean Six Sigma is merely a tool used in the continuous improvement process of an organization. With the external regulatory and financial pressures placed on health care today and the increased demand from patients for the best possible experience, these organizations need to have a way to continuously monitor and improve all of their processes. In the end, the benefits are seen not only by the institution, but much further into the community. Better processes make employees feel better about what they are doing. Customers (or patients) have a better experience and the institution is able to eliminate wasteful processes that can directly impact their bottom line.
In addition to improving the patient experience, health care institutions can and have seen significant impact within the administrative portion of their business. As it does in any office setting, Lean Six Sigma can help to reduce variation and waste. Determining root causes and then streamlining processes saves time, effort and headaches for everyone involved. Consider the number of transactions conducted in one day at a typical hospital that do not directly involve the treatment of a patient. If you are able to cut even 5 to 10 percent, you can achieve significant cost savings.
What do you see as the end result of these programs?
Continuous improvement is a critical component to any business. In the field of health care, it can result in organizations increasing their internal efficiencies, patient satisfaction, employee involvement and overall strength of the business.
For medical staff, optimization can lead to the elimination or reduction in wasted time and effort, allowing more time with patients. Health care professionals always say they became involved in the field to help people. Elimination of wasted activities gives them that opportunity.
Lean Six Sigma is a preventive medicine that can be used on processes to avoid problems in the future. Many institutions have become more involved in using these techniques and the success stories become more significant every day.
Ed Siurek is Director of Quality at Corporate College. Reach him at (216) 987-2838 or [email protected].
Insights Executive Education is brought to you by Corporate College
