Six Sigma for Healthcare Improves Patient Care and Reduces Costs
We have delivered programs to Healthcare service providers with great success from eight different locations across the US. From 2004-2006 one organization of Healthcare Belts closed a project with over 2 Million of Annual Savings.
This 3-day Six Sigma Healthcare course builds on the proven Lean Six Sigma training that has made 6Sigma.us a proven and highly sought after resource for many industries. The DMAIC program typically consists of the following topics, tools and techniques:
One of the most important resources in the hospital environment is the “bed.” This critical resource gets demands from just about every department in the hospital including surgery, the ER, and the ICU. If patients are not allowed to “flow” through these critical resources, the result is that every process feeding the beds become backed-up, which in turn reduces the amount of patient services that can be administered. The gridlock that arises strains all elements of the provider’s resources (people, time and money) and can impact directly the quality, timeliness, and effectiveness of the service. Such factors can be measured in terms of satisfaction or patient outcomes. By breaking down the overall delivery process into smaller, subsystem activities, the Lean Six Sigma practitioner can bring to the surface those areas that constrain the system during peak demand.
Emergency Department Capacity Improvement
One area that a hospital experiences unpredictable demand is that of Emergency Department (ED) arrivals. For a hospital, this is a major source of entry into the provider system that requires further demand on the services. It can also represent lost revenue if patients cannot be admitted and must be turned away. The goal for the hospital’s ED might include increasing patient throughput from the department into the subsequent care areas, increasing staff productivity, and ensuring all arriving patients can be serviced. The outcome for the patient is increased overall satisfaction.
Other Improvement Areas
Other case studies have focused on other key areas of a hospital, including Cardiology Services, Supply Chain Optimization, Perioperative Services, and Intensive Care Units. Using the students’ input, one or several of the topics become part of the training material. Review the 6Sigma.us website for an example of actual projects and outcomes from previous students with the increased demands of the Healthcare provider, finding time to take off-site training is a difficult balancing act. 6Sigma.us understands this, which is why the 3-day Jumpstart Rx program was developed. Carefully linking the well established Lean Six Sigma techniques with the unique attributes of the Healthcare environment is “just what the Doctor ordered.”
If you are interested in the full Green Belt please feel free to join one of our full length Six Sigma Green Belt programs.
Project Examples from one of our Medical Laboratory Clients
Belt
Project(s)
Dates of Completion*
Cost Savings
Black
Reducing Blood Wastage
May-13
$213,290
Black
STAT Troponin
Jun-13
$88,000
Black
NAT TAT
Sep-13
$463,000
Yellow
MCHC Repeats
Oct-13
$7,800
Black
Decreasing QA Occurrence Report TAT
Jan-13
$23,000
Black
Improving donor collection errors
Jan-13
$150,000
Green
Use Health Care Provider Number
Jan-13
$78,000
Green
Reducing Confirmatory Testing TAT
Jun-13
$22,000
Black
Anatomic Pathology Tracking System
Jul-13
$273,600
Green
Reduction of Specimen Submission Errors
Jul-13
Green
PAP SMEAR TAT
Jul-13
Black
TAT for Quant HCG
Jul-13
$30,000
Black
Reducing civilian platelet purchases
Sep-13
Black
RAST Testing
Oct-13
Green
Reduction of Commercial Reference Laboratory Costs/Contracts
Oct-13
$200,000
Black
Reducing FFP Breakage
Oct-13
$88,000
Black
Reducing Blood Contam Rate
Dec-13
$55,000
Green
Supply Ordering Issues
June-July 2005
$4,100
Black
Reducing TAT of Troponin Testing
Jul-13
$88,000
Black
Decrease Red Blood Cell Purchases
Aug-05
$300,000
Green
APTT Turn-around Time
Dec-13
$50,000
Testimonial
“We are making excellent progress, $15 million total to date since projects began to go live in April-May 2001, projecting 14-15 million this year alone. Cultural transformation is occurring as the successes mount.”