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Improving ED Wait Times at North Shore University Hospital
North Shore University Hospital in Forest Hills, N.Y., initiated a Six Sigma project aimed at improving the patient experience by reducing wait times in its Emergency Department. The results have been impressive. Read the full article. May 7, 2008
Starting the First Surgical Case on Time to Cut Delays
In this case study, a medical center tackles delays in its surgical schedule by focusing on the first case of the day. Through the use of Six Sigma tools, the deployment team identified and put in place a number of successful improvement strategies. Read the full article. April 23, 2008
Guidelines for Six Sigma Healthcare Project Selection
While every healthcare organization has multiple priorities that must be weighed and kept in balance - and many stakeholders to satisfy - there are some basic guidelines which can be used for Six Sigma healthcare project selection. Read the full article. April 9, 2008
Ideas for Achieving Higher Reliability in Healthcare
Debate may continue about methods for calculating the exact number of deaths caused by medical errors, but there is general consensus that healthcare is not as safe and reliable as it should be. Professionals are seeking high reliability in healthcare. Read the full article. March 26, 2008
5 Tips for Applying Six Sigma from Three Top Hospitals
Six Sigma leaders from three of America’s premier healthcare institutions recently shared their experiences with iSixSigma Magazine. They also offered advice for hospitals completing Six Sigma deployments of their own. Read the full article. March 12, 2008
Solving the Dilemma Created by the No-Show Patient
Patients who fail to show up for their exams interrupt the scheduling process and disrupt the delivery system. Healthcare facilities must control no-shows to realize process efficiencies and minimize missed revenue opportunities. Read the full article. February 27, 2008
FMEA: Preventing a Failure Before Any Harm Is Done
As a tool embedded within Six Sigma methodology, FMEA can help eliminate concerns early in the development of a process. It can be used to systematically examine possible process failure, then to redesign to eliminate the possibility of failure. Read the full article. February 27, 2008
The Initial Focus – Strategy or Projects?
It is difficult to launch change initiatives and even harder to ensure the initiative continues to move in the right direction with long-term results. An abundance of improvement ideas may be the problem. What should the team focus on first? Read the full article. February 13, 2008
LSS Streamlines OR at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center
Thibodaux Regional Medical Center successfully used LSS initiatives to improve their operating rooms. Delays were common in the perioperative environment and turnover times between surgical cases impacted surgeon satisfaction and services available. Read the full article. January 30, 2008
Six Sigma Improves Workflow in N-Medicine Department
The nuclear medicine department located in the Ospedale Santa Croce e Carle in Cuneo, Italy, has always been recognized as a national and international reference site. Nonetheless, it profits from a Six Sigma continuous improvement project. Read the full article. January 16, 2008
Outpatient Imaging Reports TAT Cut from 64 to 9 Hours
An outpatient imaging center wanted to know how it could have a competitive edge. Their customers told them: Decrease report turnaround times. The center decided to use the Six Sigma toolkit to determine the root causes for current turnaround times. Read the full article. January 2, 2008
