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MELVILLE - At a time when many companies tout software as an ideal shortcut to savings, a growing number of health care providers and insurers are turning to another tool - a management program made famous by General Electric.
Melville-based Vytra Health Plans Inc. last week said it has used it to shave off hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses.
New Hyde Park-based North ShoreLong Island Jewish Health System said it is taking steps to implement a similar program.
Known as Six Sigma, the management process was created by Motorola in the 1980s and made most famous by Jack Welch at GE. In Six Sigma, companies monitor and generate statistics on every aspect of their business, and then seek to improve their numbers.
The program entails training from people who specialize in the approach. Vytra sent about six executives to training programs at the University of Texas at Austin, while North Shore-LIJ plans to bring in trainers from GE.
"People are beginning to use it more and more in the service industries," said Vytra CEO Tom McAteer. "A lot of it has to do with Welch and the fact that he's held in such high regard in the corporate community."
Financial services companies have signed on in recent years, but insurers...