What is Lean Healthcare?

Lean Healthcare is the application of lean production principles to provide health care. The aim of any lean operation is double: shortening the time spent on unnecessary activities and reducing defects in the production of goods or providing services. Lean Healthcare distinguishes between activities and value -added procedures and added value and to eliminate those that do not add any value. This example can be compared to a nurse who spends 15 minutes looking for surgical supplies that were not in the right place. This is an activity without value, because the time spent by searching does not contribute to the patient's care. In lean production, strong efforts develop to avoid defects in production through measurement of quality control. The use of this principle in healthcare is considered to be critical of reducing mortality and reducing the outstanding injuries of patients.

There are main differences using lean principles for health care settings. A hospital with sick or injuredPatients are extremely different working environment from a smooth operating factory running on a strict production schedule. In the factory, it is a relatively simple task of giving instructions and expecting compliance with regulations aimed at reducing waste and increasing efficiency.

In the medical environment, even if workers are trained to anticipate the patient's needs, medical situations may occur regardless of the schedule or schedule. Health workers are expected to be compassionate and attentive to patients and bring human touch to health care. That is why few patients would like strict use of the principles of lean production applied to patient care settings. The aim in Lean Healthcare is to preserve Compasion while reducing the scattering in the procedures and elimination of unnecessary activities.

This objective is achieved by helping healthcare providers understand the difference between internal and primaryEven processes and then by training employees to look at internal processes with regard to waste removal. For example, one internal process is the way the storage area is arranged. On the other hand, the primary process would be to care for a bed of a patient suffering from pain.

The storage area could historically serve the purpose directly related to patient care in the past, but over time it has become catching for furniture or tools that are often not used. If the hospital has little of these rooms, the overall impact on lean operation may be minimal. However, if there are many such areas, the impact could be significant. If such a waste occurs on an even larger scale, the Hospital Council may approve the spending of the money necessary to expand the fainfrastructure of city, because of the perception that there is not enough room for patient care. Slender health care strategy would focus on the first regeneration of unnecessary space, saving significant capital expenses.