In this continuation of a multi-part case study, recurring problems are identified and eliminated at the diagnostic clinics’ newly established centralized laboratory.
This now five-part case study focuses on improving customer satisfaction at two of a company’s diagnostic clinics – Centers A and B. In Part One, the company worked at Center A to reduce patient turnaround time, a defining component of patient satisfaction. In Part Two, the chain’s improvement story focuses on increasing patient delight at…
Building a culture of continuous improvement within an organization goes beyond the ability to execute process improvement projects. An organization that supports continuous improvement promotes a non-blaming culture, focuses on the improvement responsibility of all employees and uses the talent of the entire workforce. Such an organization empowers employees to speak up when they see…
In the heartland of America the population of residents is shrinking. Along with a decline in population comes the fading economic market of consumers to support the service businesses of these communities. Due to aging populations and fewer people migrating to rural America, small towns confront real threats to their ways of life. Economies are…
The accounts payable shared services center (SSC) of a large Ohio-based healthcare system completed a Six Sigma operational enhancement and reporting project. This case study reviews the course of the project which endeavored to establish standard invoice processing times and develop an ongoing system for monitoring how well those standards are met. Over the last…
A 250-bed hospital had implemented total quality management (TQM) to improve customer delight in its diagnostic clinics. After that success, the management team of the hospital was ready to proceed with further process improvement. After completing a brainstorming and prioritization exercise, the team determined to next address the problem: delay in receiving test reports for patients…
This three-part case study focuses on improving customer satisfaction at two of the company’s diagnostic clinics – Centers A and B. In Part One, the company worked at Center A to reduce patient turnaround time, a defining component of patient satisfaction. In Part Two, the chain’s improvement story focuses on increasing patient delight at Center…
This three-part case study focuses on two of the company’s diagnostic clinics – Centers A and B. In Part One, the company worked at Center A to reduce patient turnaround time, a defining component of patient satisfaction. Part Two of the chain’s improvement story focuses on increasing patient delight at Center B. Part Three revisits…
The following is Part One of a three-part article. Click here to read Part Two. Click here to read Part Three. A chain of medical diagnostic clinics was developed from the ground up. After two years of hectic expansion marked by acquisitions and setting up greenfield clinics across a number of cities, it became clear…
As a career operations professional, many of my friends understand that I see process flows in nearly everything I encounter. Some friends find this entertaining, others find it a bit annoying. But mostly they allow me to exercise (not exorcise) my craft. You see, I was born of operational parents. I’m not sure if it…
Hospitals and health plans know that the high cost of care is squeezing the U.S. economy. That’s why so many of them are using Lean Six Sigma to control spending by refining internal processes – while still satisfying customers in a highly competitive market. A major health care consortium based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area…
A group of healthcare leaders from Saskatchewan, Canada, recently visited the United States to tour hospitals in Washington state and learn about the successful deployment of the Lean Six Sigma methodology to improve efficiency.
A clinical laboratory in the African nation of Uganda is preparing to adopt Lean standards to improve efficiency, according to a statement from Ali Elbireer, laboratory administrative director for the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI).
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) recently reported that the Canadian province of Quebec is on track to lower the rate of increase in costs for its universal healthcare system due to the implementation of Lean Six Sigma-based continuous improvement practices.
At the recent Clinton Global Initiative meeting in Chicago, Toyota Motor Corp. announced the launch of a program that will teach its Lean-based Toyota Production System (TPS) guidelines to schools, hospitals and non-profits across the United States.
A recent project conducted by eight hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers in the United States, along with the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare, has implemented methods such as Lean Six Sigma and change management to address the issue of wrong site surgeries.
Hospitals, health systems to benefit from The Quality Group’s Six Sigma and other performance management solutions
If you didn’t have the ability to attend an iSixSigma Live! event in person during the first half of 2011 (and given the content at these world-class conferences, you really should have been there), you still have the chance to take in some of the best presentations from those programs with the iSixSigma “Best of…
British medical device Kimal has announced that it will begin implementing Six Sigma process improvements to enhance the quality of its services.
Health insurance provider HealthAmerica has hired certified Black Belt Dawn Milstead as its new vice president of health services. She will work out of the company’s office in Harrisburg, Pa., USA.
Cetero Research, a clinical pharmacology research organization, has hired James “Jay” Dixon as its new senior vice president, quality and compliance.
Adventist Hinsdale Hospital, in Hinsdale, Ill., USA, has appointed Master Black Belt Steve Brown as director of operational excellence, a new position that will focus on improving processes and operations.
Since its founding in 1990, National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has been driving improvement through the development of quality standards and measures in the healthcare field. The NCQA measures are more commonly recognized as Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS). How can organizations incorporate Lean Six Sigma in their NCQA accreditation efforts? Lean…
Jan De Witte, president and CEO of GE Healthcare’s Performance Solutions division, has taken on the additional title of president and CEO of GE’s $1.4 billion Healthcare IT division. He succeeds Vishal Wanchoo, who has moved into the role of senior vice president of growth initiatives for GE India.
Leading Regional Hospital chosen to share findings and results on innovative approach to engaging employees in Lean improvement at American College of Healthcare Executives Annual Congress in Chicago.
Historically, medical residency teaching clinics provide the heart of medical services to an under-insured population through various government-subsidized health insurance programs. These programs provide medical coverage for eligible individuals with incomes of less than 35 percent of the federal poverty level. It is well-established that people living in poverty are at a higher risk for…
Benjamin Franklin once said that “time is money.” In the clinical world, time can be more valuable than money. When a patient is in need of attention, bedside clinical caregiver time is worth more than money. As Vice President of Support Services at Heartland Health, my job is to make sure support service departments –…
Process improvement deployment expert and healthcare industry veteran Angel R. Garcia, of Edwards Life Sciences, will deliver a keynote address at the iSixSigma Live! Summit & Awards. The event takes place next week, Feb. 7-10, in Miami, Florida.
Health Enhancement Products Inc., a manufacturer of health and wellness products in Scottsdale, Ariz., USA, has hired Troy Davis to fill the newly created position of operations manager.
The biomedical world – which includes the equipment used in hospitals, as well as physicians’ and dentists’ offices – is ripe for Six Sigma use. As a senior biomedical engineer and a Black Belt, I embarked on a Six Sigma journey that would provide top-quality service at reduced costs to my customers. As part of…
The Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC), a hospital based in Salisbury, Md., USA, has promoted Six Sigma Black Belt Steve Leonard to the position of vice president of operations, optimization and innovation.
The Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) has promoted Six Sigma Black Belt Zachary Reed to the position of director of neurosciences.
“What kind of care would I want for a loved one who is fighting cancer?” This is the question that Julia, an outpatient clinic nurse at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), asked herself as she observed the following process: Mrs. Smith, a patient, arrives early to the clinic to meet with her oncologist, Dr….
Director of Quality Outcomes Nidia Williams explains how the deployment in this three-hospital organization has evolved in the past two years.
Many of the nation’s most innovative clinical laboratories, pathology groups and in-vitro diagnostics manufacturers came together recently at the Fourth Annual Lab Quality Confab in San Antonio to share their successes in the use of Lean Six Sigma and similar process improvement techniques.
A New England-based healthcare system is proving Lean Six Sigma tools are not just for manufacturing companies after realizing substantial cost savings in a nearly two-year implementation process.
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) National Research Network and the American College of Physicians released a study in the Journal of the American Board of Family Physicians (JABFM) in September showing how including both physicians and non-physicians on process improvement teams can help better facilitate change management, according to an article by David…
A Minnesota-based quality group recently presented three people with the 2010 Shurson Awards, honoring commitment to quality principles. The winners, chosen by the Rochester Area Quality Council (RAQC), are Gene Dankbar and Dr. Prathibha Varkey of the Mayo Clinic, and Darryl Mickelson of Hormel Foods Corp.
Despite the common allegation that Lean improvement methods must lead to layoffs at healthcare systems, the reality is quite different at several leading hospitals, where Lean methods are actually saving or creating jobs.
In order to increase organization and efficiency at hospitals, administrators should employ management tools such as the Toyota Production System, said healthcare futurist Joe Flower, who works with clients ranging from World Health Organization to Global Business Network.
Swapping three systems and folders stuffed with paper forms for one laptop and a few forms was too good of an idea to pass up for LTC Patricia Ten Haaf, commander of the 452nd Combat Support Hospital (CSH). After all, leading an eight-bed medical treatment facility at Forward Operating Base Salerno in Afghanistan had enough…
The Joint Commission has announced that Alex Vandiver has been appointed as director of business excellence. He will also serve as director of the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare, which aims to solve health care’s most critical safety and quality problems.
Aethon, a developer of 21st century robotic delivery solutions for hospitals, today announced the appointment of Kevin Newton as vice president of operations and quality assurance. In this role Newton will lead the company’s manufacturing, purchasing and quality improvement initiatives as well as assist in new product development.
Emergency room waiting times could be cut by over one third and patients’ length of stay by almost two-thirds, thanks to a new approach to the triage process of sorting patients for further assessment and treatment, according to research published in the International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage this month. The researchers have…
Dr. John Toussaint, former CEO and president of the ThedaCare healthcare system, shares his lessons learned in applying Lean in his recent book. ThedaCare Inc., a not-for-profit system of hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and other services in Northeast Wisconsin, has been practicing Lean for more than seven years. Through its use of Lean principles, the…
For patients of Virginia Mason Medical Center, trips to the hospital can actually be pleasant – or at least free of discomfort and waste. The center is a private, not-for-profit organization offering integrated health services, including a 336-bed hospital in Seattle and a network of primary and specialty care clinics throughout the Puget Sound region….
Hospitals in the Tampa Bay, Fla., USA, area tripled profits in 2009, largely by cutting expenses. That puts the local hospitals among a growing number of businesses nationally that are focused on controlling expenses to boost income, as the recession cut into revenue growth.
When the clock is ticking in time-bound, customer-sensitive operations, using Lean Six Sigma can be a smart move toward achieving operational excellence and customer satisfaction. In this case study, one large insurance company executed a Lean Six Sigma project to cut operational costs for property and casualty (P&C) insurance claims and improve customer satisfaction. The…
Recognizing accomplishments is an important part of a Lean Six Sigma deployment, both for the honor that it brings to the practitioners and for the visibility it brings to the program. Covidien plc, a $10 billion global leader in healthcare products, has embraced that concept wholeheartedly in its annual Bring Home the Gold competition. The…
Four times a year, I donate blood at a local blood bank and receive readings on my cholesterol, blood pressure and pulse. Although donating blood does not improve a person’s health, the regular readings of the vital signs, along with analysis and actions stemming from this data, can be significant in the fight against heart…
Niraj Goyal
Ashley Sedorovich
Wayne Westgaard
Gregory Nardin
Sue Gillman
Hobart Swan
Randy Woods
Kirsten Terry
Paul Arnold
Chuck Gaster
Elizabeth Cuevas, FNP
David D. Jones
Robert Hijazi
Jill Koroseta
Kate Burrows
Rajiv Panigrahi
Stephen Turgeon
Ray Ernst