Lean Healthcare

Lean Six Sigma tools and teachings for the medical industry

Commonalities between Lean Healthcare and Lean Manufacturing tools & teachings

• 99% of Lean Healthcare definitions and teachings can be applied to both a Lean Manufacturing and Lean Healthcare environment without any modification,
  IF (and this is the big stumbling block)...
  IF Lean authors, teachers, and practitioners use terminology that does not assume that the thing being processed is a physical inventory item
• Lean management systems are the same
• The lean system for visual management is the same
  (even though the specific visual controls vary greatly even within any given organization)
• The process for value stream mapping is the same for home-builder, a hotel, or a hospital
  (See step-by-step instructions in the Help page on our free trial value stream mapping template)
• Unlike Lean Office, Lean Healthcare and Lean Manufacturing both focus on the central middle segment of the value stream.
• A Lean Healthcare value stream is just as likely as a manufacturer to employ lean concepts such as kanbans, heijunka, jidoka, kaizen, and the couple dozen new words for process improvement that happen to be Japanese words because Henry Ford didn't think of them first. Many or most Lean teachings come from the Toyota Production System - which is why it is common for Lean practitioners to assume that the thing being processed is a physical inventory item (like a car). But it doesn't have to be. Literally 99% of Lean concepts apply to ANY industry.

Top Differences between Lean Healthcare and Lean Manufacturing tools & teachings

1. If the process you are optimizing does not deal with inventory, then wherever you see the word "inventory" - substitute either the word "patient", or "the thing being processed"
2. In addition to inventory, buffer and safety resources are more likely to also include:
   1. Overtime
   2. Cross-training and departmental borrowing
   3. Temporaries
   4. Outsourcing
   5. Pre-trained workers available as needed (seasonal, retirees...)
   6. Pre-negotiated availability of extra rooms/beds
   7. Contingency plans
   8. Automation

Value stream mapping symbols and concepts are the same, except for a few unique shapes, such as an ambulance instead of a truck, or a gurney instead of a push cart.
Lean Healthcare providers are more likely to use Stick Figure drawings for A3 problem solving.

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Lean Healthcare gotcha's

1. Don't invent your own vocabulary.

   Just because you sometimes need to substitute the words "patient" or "the thing being processed" when you see the word "inventory" doesn't mean that it is a good idea to start inventing your own (non-Japanese) words for everything else you learn about Lean.

   You will make it a LOT easier on your people if you teach them the same Lean definitions that are used in every Lean book that has ever been printed - instead of trying to "translate" for them by inventing your own vocabulary.

   Standard lean tools can still incorporate Evidence Based Outcomes.
   The standard Results Metrics can be used to monitor any results - including Hospital Core Measures.

2. Don't over-customize your templates too soon. Just because these Excel templates are so easy to personalize doesn't mean you should. The more that your people learn about how to apply the right lean six sigma tools and methods, the less different you will find that you really are. If you find yourself wanting to personalize a template, first consider that maybe you might be trying to use the wrong tool for the problem you're trying to solve.
   Call us. Ask questions. We can help.
3. Don't fall for the Common Pitfalls encountered by Lean newcomers.
   

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