Case Studies
Real-world examples of how quality can make a difference in the delivery of healthcare.
Quality Engrained in Culture at Iowa Hospital (PDF, 250 KB)
The plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle, data-based decision making, and lean methodologies are part of the quality culture at Guttenberg Municipal Hospital. In 2008, the hospital received a Silver Award in the Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence program.
June 2009
Rural Hospital Thrives With Continuous Improvement and Innovation (PDF, 210 KB)
High patient satisfaction resulted from a culture change at Wright Medical Center. They shifted to a more open communication model and a pillar system that focuses on six areas of performance improvement. The hospital is now a destination of choice for healthcare in north central Iowa, with some of the highest patient satisfaction scores in the nation.
April 2009
Streamlined Enrollment Nets Big Results for Healthcare Leader
Kaiser Permanente Colorado used Lean Six Sigma to evaluate and improve Medicaid enrollment processes. A three-month project resulted in a 45 percent gain in Medicaid membership while increasing Medicaid revenue by more than $1 million annually.
January 2009
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children: Ferrari’s Formula One Handovers and Handovers From Surgery to Intensive Care (PDF, 136 KB)
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH) benchmarked its handoff from cardiac surgery to the intensive care unit against pit stop techniques of the Ferrari Formula One race car team. Process improvements resulted in increased patient safety and decreased error rates.
August 2008.
Excerpted from chapter 10 of Benchmarking for Hospitals: Achieving Best-in-Class Performance Without Having to Reinvent the Wheel, by Victor E.Sower, Jo Ann Duffy, and Gerald Kohers.
Community Health Network Reduces Deadly Infections Through Culture of Reliability (PDF, 223 KB)
Community Health Network (CHN) has achieved stunning results in reducing cases of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) using specific bundles of care. Four of the network’s critical care or coronary care units have reported no cases of VAP for at least two years, and one unit has eliminated all cases of this deadly infection since December 2003.
June 2008
Emergency Department Prescribes Lean for Process Improvement (PDF, 179 KB)
When the Mercy Medical Center emergency department used lean techniques to improve process flow, patient satisfaction scores rose from the 30th to the 95th percentile. Value stream mapping helped identify and eliminate non-value-added steps.
May 2008.
St. Luke’s Hospital Breaks Out of the Pack to Improve Patient and Physician Satisfaction (PDF, 238 KB)
Since implementing its Baldrige-based “breaking out of the pack” strategy, St. Luke’s Hospital has improved patient satisfaction scores from the 49th to the 90th percentile. The hospital was named a Press Ganey Success Story recipient in 2007 and a Silver Award winner in the Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence program.
March 2008.
Prescription for Community-Based Healthcare Includes ISO 9001 (PDF, 270 KB)
The Community Anticoagulation Therapy Clinic demonstrates how ISO 9001 principles can provide a framework for a community model of care delivery and patient safety. Customer and provider surveys demonstrate 100% satisfaction with the clinic, which uses a controlled document system based on ISO 9001, internal and external auditing, and preventive and corrective action plans.
February 2008.
Pocono Medical Center: Faster Lab Results Using Six Sigma and Lean (PDF, 188 KB)
A Six Sigma/Lean project helped a laboratory develop a solution for delivering blood test results to doctors by 6 a.m. for critical care patients and by 7 a.m. for all other patients.
October 2006.
Bringing Order to Orders at the Nebraska Medical Center
(PDF, 118 KB)
The Nebraska Medical Center used Six Sigma to improve the completeness and availability of physician orders for patients; the project occurred within a Six Sigma program that has returned about $7.5 million in savings.
July 2006.
Dutch Hospital Implements Six Sigma (PDF, 61 KB)
A Six Sigma implementation at Red Cross Hospital in Beverwijk, the Netherlands, shows that even small projects can make a big difference.
Six Sigma Forum Magazine, February 2005.
Surmounting Staff Scheduling Challenges at Valley Baptist Health System (PDF, 53 KB)
A project on staff scheduling led to an overall reduction in the hourly cost of overtime and agency use, translating to $460 thousand in potential savings.
ASQ Six Sigma Forum, September 2003.
FMEA—the Cure for Medical Errors (PDF, 116 KB)
St. Joseph’s Hospital in West Bend, Wisconsin, has used failure mode and effects analysis to create a healthcare facility aimed at reducing errors and promoting patient safety and satisfaction through design.
Quality Progress magazine, August 2003.
Heroes Wear Scrubs Too (PDF, 54 KB)
After the collapse of the World Trade Center, teamwork helped emergency department staff at NYU Downtown Hospital meet a demand far greater than this small hospital normally handles.
News for a Change, April 2002.
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