Lean Healthcare: More and Better Care, with Less
The healthcare industry is facing great challenges today including rising costs, the need to expand access, shortages of staff, reduced reimbursements from payers, and the constant need to improve patient safety and quality of care. The traditional approaches to meeting these challenges can no longer keep up, but fortunately Lean methods and the kaizen mindset provide effective means to overcome the challenges.
We have worked with hospitals, family practice, laboratories and clinics both large and small. Our highly motivated clients have learned how to apply kaizen practices and Lean management concepts towards the continuous improvement of safety, quality and cost. This is achieved through conducting rapid experiments in redesigning workflows to reduce non value-added activities.
There is great hope and unlimited potential to improve healthcare delivery by engaging professionals and staff in continuous improvement each day.
Children's Hospital of Saskatchewan Getting Lean
The Kaizen Institute consultants led the project to transform the hospital design process using the Lean technique of 3P (Production Preparation Process ) Methodology.
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Our Valued Healthcare Clients
Value Stream Mapping the “Stroke Pathway”
Value stream mapping is a method we use to help diagnose and visualize the current situation of a process. This may be patient flow, scheduling, or operating room changeover. The aim is to accurately understand of all flows within healthcare such as information, materials, patients and staff.
A value stream is drawn from the point of view of the patient, just as they experience the actual process of healthcare delivery. Value stream mapping is not a theoretical class room exercise, it involve actually walking the patient flow and collecting data and facts.
The examples show here mapped the end-to-end value stream of a 65 year old patient as they passed through the stroke pathway from the Emergency Department through to final discharge.
A typical value stream mapping team consists of a multi-disciplinary team working together for one to three days, depending on scope of the flow. The mapping includes identification of non value added activities, measurement of distances traveled, wait times, value added times and quality performance.
The value stream map draws a picture of the current condition and allows us to ask "Why?" repeatedly in order to find the root causes of problems. The team then draws a "to be" or future state map based on quick wins and priority improvements.
Value stream mapping requires no special software, tools or extensive training. It can be learned quickly and be practiced by anyone with a pencil, paper and a willingness to go see with an open mind.
Problem Problem Solving: Lean Healthcare in Action!
One of the fundamental mindsets of kaizen is to never being satisfied with the status quo. Every small improvement often identifies several more problems, or potential improvements. The discipline of practical problem solving, based on the PDCA cycle and asking "why?" 5 times, is essential to creating a continuous improvement culture.
The Kaizen Institute consultants are world class problem solvers and instructors in practical problem solving. This expertise is readily teachable to healthcare professionals. In fact, once the method is understood, it comes naturally to many because essentially the lean practical problem solving approach is the scientific method.
In the examples shown here, the participants brought with them pre-selected real-life problems to the training. The training, practical exercise and coaching turned knowledge into skills, and with practice, into wisdom. The outcomes of the practical problem solving resulted many rapid experiments to improve processes.
Empowering people to identify and then solve problems in a systematic, transferrable way is at the heart of Lean and kaizen. Practical problem solving and supports a culture where everybody, everywhere in the organization can improve every day.