Healthcare Update

In This Issue

• Focus on Lean and Six Sigma
• Guest Essay: Read a PowerPoint case study detailing how a nonprofit hospital used quality tools and methods to increase its door-to-balloon compliance rate.
• This Issue’s Announcements: Read about ASQ’s lean and Six Sigma training offerings as well as the healthcare-specific sessions at the upcoming World Conference on Quality and Improvement.
• Quality News: Read current news stories about quality tools and trends in the healthcare field, as well as issues facing the healthcare industry.

Focus On…

LEAN AND SIX SIGMA

Lean in Healthcare
Use lean to make your hospital or clinic work more efficiently. By eliminating nonvalue-added activities and waste, you can focus your time and resources on improving patient care. ASQ has the resources needed to get started with lean. Research, read, learn, train or network your way to improving healthcare quality:

• Lean
• Case Studies
• Training

Conferences

• Lean and Six Sigma Conference
• World Conference on Quality and Improvement

Communities

• Lean Enterprise Division
• Healthcare Division
• Six Sigma Forum
• Public Discussion Boards

Learn more about lean and healthcare from ASQ.

Healthcare Quality in Focus: The Human Side of Lean
This webinar focuses on the human side of lean healthcare and describes the current state of healthcare quality. It also discusses the improvements that can be achieved by implementing lean. Webinar viewers will see lean as a business strategy and understand the leadership support needed for lean to succeed. View the webinar. (This webinar is free for members.)

Make Healthcare Lean
The authors of this Quality Progress article describe how lean processes could contribute as much to the healthcare sector as they have to the auto industry. The article includes two examples that show how acceptance of lean can grow at healthcare organizations if they start with projects that get quick results. More

Don’t Just Talk the Talk
According to this Quality Progress article, the Joint Commission recently looked inward to improve processes and customer service. The improvement process started with five internal projects and a Green and Black Belt training program. More

A Dose of DMAIC
In this Quality Progress article, a team at a hospital in India—where pharmacy sales were lower than benchmarks—used lean tools and define, measure, analyze, improve and control to tackle problems. The resulting sustainable improvements reduced wait times and improved cycle time. More

Basic Lean and Lean Six Sigma Training for Healthcare
This training provides the basics on lean and lean Six Sigma. Learn about the tools, methods and applications. More

Hospitals Turning to Lean Six Sigma for Performance Improvement
According to this article from AMN Healthcare, more hospitals are turning to industry-proven lean Six Sigma business management strategies to enhance their performance improvement efforts and reduce costs. A recent ASQ study was the first to evaluate the implementation of lean Six Sigma in 77 hospitals across the country and found that 53% of hospitals reported some level of lean deployment, while 42% reported some use of Six Sigma. More

Featured Books

Guest Essay

Use of Process Improvement Tools and Concepts to Increase the Aggregate Mean/Index Door-to-Balloon Time in Acute Myocardial Infarction Cases from 47% to Greater Than 90%

This PowerPoint case study from fall 2009 details how a large, nonprofit hospital was struggling to meet the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ new standard for door-to-balloon time. The hospital’s goal was to increase the aggregate mean/index door-to-balloon time from 47% to greater than 90% by January 2008. The project team used quality tools and methods to find the root cause, and eventually the door-to-balloon compliance rate increased to 82%, while the sigma level increased from 1.62 to 2.4. More

Guest Essay is an ongoing Healthcare Update feature in which authors working in the healthcare field explore the role quality tools and methods play in delivering better care and driving down costs.

If you would like to submit a Guest Essay for consideration, send an e-mail to Healthcare Update editor Nicole Adrian.

This Issue’s Announcements

Leading Lean Teams in Healthcare

This course describes the needed lean tools to improve workflow and shows how to apply them. Participants also will learn how to lead teams through an actual lean project in their organization. This course is applicable to all healthcare organizations, with a primary focus on hospitals, physician clinics, labs, blood banks and public health organizations. The course runs April 27–July 20. More

ASQ’s WCQI to Feature Healthcare Sessions

World Conference on Quality and Improvement, set for May 24-26 in St. Louis, will feature nine healthcare-specific sessions:

• Model for Designing Rehabilitation Training Program
• Quality Journey Transforms Primary Care Practice
• Hospital and Payer Collaborate Using Six Sigma
• Beyond Projects: Building Systems and Process Literacy
• PACU Nursing Staffing: Optimizing Quality and Cost
• Using Lean Six Sigma to Improve Patient Safety
• Using Quality Principles to Battle Cancer
• The Five Patient Safety Levels in Health Systems
• Standardization Methods of Clinical Process Using PCAPS

Register for the conference or learn more about the healthcare sessions.

Lean Six Sigma Black Belt for Healthcare—Blended Training

This course, which beings May 12, is taught in a blended format and combines MoreSteam web-based lean Six Sigma training, live virtual training and coaching, and classroom training. Key course objectives include:

• Executing Six Sigma define, measure, analyze, improve and control methodology.
• Optimizing processes by applying statistical techniques and analysis.
• Applying lean concepts for fast results.
• Improving patient safety and care delivery.
• Reducing operating costs.

Quality News

Study: Nurses Lack Quality Improvement Skills

According to this Quality News Today article, in a new study—"New Nurses" Views of Quality Improvement Education"—38.6% of novice nurses responded they were "poorly" or "very poorly" prepared by their education to implement quality improvement measures. More

Go Lean in 2010: Reducing Waste in Construction

This article, from HealthLeaders Media, describes how Seattle Children’s Hospital has embraced the canon of Toyota’s lean process improvement. This July, they will open a newly constructed outpatient facility built by applying those principles to the design and construction process. More