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Most everyone complains about healthcare. "America's healthcare system is neither healthy, caring nor a system," Walter Cronkite Jr. said in a 1993 interview.1 Many people would claim the same today.
Internationally, healthcare provisions are often viewed in an even more negative light. Reasons for complaints related to healthcare are not only due to cost factors. Often, the dissatisfaction is related to social, cultural, political and economic conditions. Yet basic healthcare, as a human right, is promoted by many organizations worldwide.
Lean thinking and Six Sigma practices have had a significant impact on the global healthcare industry. Both processes:
* Work to optimize the multiple and complex practices necessary to make healthcare successful.
* Are concerned with the wasting of time and money.
* Pay close attention to supplies and equipment management.
* Stay interested in providing high-quality services.
A relatively new trend in healthcare is that many hospitals are considering ISO 9001 certification. Even though ISO 9001, lean and Six Sigma are all process improvement programs, using lean and Six Sigma practices can benefit the ISO 9001 program. In fact, lean and Six Sigma tools can play a key role in ISO 9001 recertification efforts. To become recertified in any ISO 9001 effort, it is imperative that methods are documented and evaluated properly. Lean and Six Sigma are not only masters at this, but they also provide excellent tools to collect data and assess the current picture.
To achieve ISO 9001 certification, the hospital must meet regulatory requirements related to identifying and continually improving its quality management system (QMS). ISO 9001 has two roles:
1. Achieving results that satisfy requirements.
2. Quality assurance.
The standard is meant for the entire organization and requires senior management support.
One of the reasons lean is so popular in healthcare today is that the method works in tandem with the Joint Commission (TJC) regulations, as well as other International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards, to achieve compliance.
Although many healthcare organizations rely on lean as a process improvement method, Six Sigma also plays an important role. Six Sigma is not always officially identified as part of a lean healthcare venture. However, the define, measure, analyze, improve and control (DMAIC) method-as well...