Health Care
The Healthcare profession is facing mounting challenges;
- cost of materials,
- shortages of staff,
- increased demand,
- increased stress on their staff ,
- potential for mistakes is increased,
- increased dissatisfaction from patients/clients because of long wait times and poor service,
- financial restraints from insurance companies and governments and
- increased media attention and distractions.
Traditional solutions to these problems might include the addition of more staff, more money, more space or a combination of all of these and sometimes the answer is simply that the patient must wait long periods of time before being treated.
An effective approach being applied by a growing number of healthcare organizations is to apply the KAIZEN Lean principles. The Kaizen Lean approach focuses on two major objectives: Customer satisfaction and Flow. It is about transformation, culturally and technically, of the entire end-to-end process. The positive and usually immediate impacts are the speed of service, the cost of service and the quality of service. The entire staff (doctors, nurses, technicians, support staff) and the patients, all 'see' and 'feel' the impact of implementing Lean when it is done properly. There is a tremendous change in the culture and thinking and everyone begins to work as a team. The stresses are removed and the professionals are now able to focus on applying their skills instead of wasting their talents on non-value activities.
We have worked with hospitals, family practice units, laboratories and medical supply facilities large and small. By applying the principles of KAIZEN Lean in many healthcare environments, we have achieved amazing results within just a few weeks. These improvements have been gained by eliminating wasteful activities that over time have become part of the system freeing up time for staff to do real value added work. These improvements are good for everyone; patients, doctors, nurses and administrators, everyone benefits.
The Healthcare sector requires the ultimate in client/patient satisfaction just by the nature of the service it provides to all of us. The Healthcare system also must be available to all and that includes cost, quality, and service. With the proper application of Kaizen Lean, these requirements can be met and in most cases expectations can be surpassed.
Healthcare is the perfect environment to implement Lean and streamline complex processes. The staff are motivated and they are passionate about giving the best to their patients/clients. All they need is the necessary knowledge to transform their processes and their thinking in order to transform their processes and meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Kaizen Institute Lean Advisors can teach them how to adapt and apply the 'right' Lean thinking to their unique situations. Call us or email us to find out more - www.ca.kaizen.com.
We have many case studies that will demonstrate to you the potential of applying Lean to Healthcare (some of these include Registration, Laboratories, Food Preparation and Delivery, Hospital Maintenance, Surgery Preparation, Changeover time between patients and much more).
Lean on Me
Process Improvement Yielding Results
Lean in Health Care, a Collaborative Effort
LEAN Healthcare Interview - CBCNewsworld
Dealing With Bottlenecks
Before you buy a new piece of equipment because you think you have a bottleneck, use a machine balance chart so that you know the real score.
Do Not Implement a 5S Program
Is your 5S program not giving you the results that you expected? 5S needs to be implemented as part of a value stream plan, and not as a program.
When Value Stream Mapping Doesn't Work
Value Stream Mapping is a tool. It isn't a panacea for all the problems that occur in management.
A Disciplined Approach To Value Stream Mapping
Value stream mapping requires good training and a disciplined approach to yield the best results.
Exciting Chaos
Striving to improve competitiveness by providing customers faster and better products/services will accomplish more than worrying about the next crisis.
The Lean Journey - The Never Ending Story
No matter how well your lean journey is going, it's not good enough. Competitors will embrace lean and erase your competitive advantage.
Troubled Waters Require Capable Leaders
Lean leaders need to look beyond the horizon and chart the future. In stormy times, true leadership skills emerge.
Lean and State of The Art Healthcare
Implement Lean in Healthcare in order to be able to do more with less while doing it better.
Value Stream Mapping Cuts Through The Fat
Value Stream Mapping is used to draw out the entire process, identifying the flow and showing the time it takes to move through the system.
Lean Healthcare - We Got The Money...Now What?
Politicians are dividing up a pot of new found money for healthcare and the public is wondering why the waiting lists are so long.
Continuous Improvement
How do Continuous Improvement teams fit in with your Lean initiatives?
Value Stream Mapping Common Mistakes
We have noticed some common mistakes with first time mappers. When the mistake is made, it is not recognized and the tool is called into question.
Can Lean Match Your Structure?
One of the first comments we get from most companies is that they are unique. And they are right. They are not Toyota. They are unique.
Adopting a Culture of Lean in the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health
The Pharmaceutical Industry and Lean
Laboratories and Lean
Lean Implementation at Medtronic Xomed
Customer-Focused quality is their highest priority and Lean Manufacturing is its methodology.
LEAN in the Haematology Laboratory
The Hospital for Sick Children is Canada's most research-intensive hospital and the largest centre dedicated to improving children's health in the country.
Trimming The Fat From Lab Processes
The Lean team at Saint Marys Hospital, a Mayo Clinic hospital, came up with a simple strategy to manage the paper order system for lab work in its ICUs.
Danbury General Hospital: Primary healthcare provider for a population of 350,000, 371-bed regional medical center and community teaching hospital.
Cook Children's Hospital: Quality health care to children through an integrated system overseeing services ranging from simple to highly specialized care.
Mayo Clinic: 2,500 physicians and scientists and 42,000 staff work at the clinic in Rochester, Minn., and newer clinics in Jacksonville, Fla., and Arizona.
Trillium Health Care Products: Manufactures and markets a series of products and services to leading Pharmaceutical, Consumer Product, and Retail Companies.
Evanston Northwestern Healthcare: Located in Chicago's northern suburbs, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare (ENH) is an integrated healthcare system.
Owensboro Medical Health System: Provides healthcare services to a ten-county area in Southern Indiana and Western Kentucky.
Clinical Laboratories of Hawaii: Medical laboratory testing company offering anatomical and clinical tests for Hawaii's medical community.
Air Liquide: International industrial group specializing in industrial and medical gases and related services._
Tyco Healthcare: A leading manufacturer, distributor, and servicer of medical devices worldwide.
Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids): One of the largest pediatric academic health science centers in the world.
Medtronic Xomed: Manufactures and sells products for otolaryngology, otology, rhinology, plastic surgery, neurosurgery, endoscopy, etc...
Five Hills Health Region: Acute care, geriatric/long term care, transition beds, home care, public health, mental health, podiatry, and addictions services.
North York General Hospital: Affiliated with the University of Toronto, is one of Canada's leading community teaching hospitals.
MDS Nordion: World leader in radioisotope technology. Two primary areas make up the business: Nuclear Medicine and Ion Technologies.
Calgary Laboratory Services: A medical diagnostic laboratory that offers a full range of laboratory services to the Calgary Region.
Marietta Memorial Hospital: 90 physicians, 37 medical specialties, 199-bed hospital with 1,200 staff members, provides healthcare in the Mid-Ohio Valley.