Jay Arthur, the author of Lean Six Sigma Demystified (McGrawHill 2007), will speak to the
National Association on Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) in Boston on how to apply Lean Six Sigma
to Healthcare. Using case studies from hospital labs to patient flow, Jay will show how easy
it can be to reduce delay, defects and deviation in healthcare.
The 1999 study, To Err is Human, found that 1 person out of every 100 who check into a hospital
will die due to a medical mistake. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (ihi.org) estimates
that 50 patients out of every 100 will experience some sort of “harm” during their stay. The best
Emergency Departments handle patients in less than 40 minutes while most EDs take 120 minutes or
longer. The difference isn’t better people; it’s a better process.
The delays, defects and deviation in most healthcare situations can be dramatically reduced using
the methods and tools of Lean Six Sigma. Fortune 500 companies have embraced Lean Six Sigma
and now it’s time for healthcare to step up to the challenge of fast, effective care.
Lean focuses on
· Reducing delay that increases patient length of stay
Six Sigma focuses on:
· Reducing variation (i.e., consistency) that affects patient outcomes
· Reducing mistakes and errors that affect patient safety
Readers can download a free Lean Six Sigma Action Plan and software, plus signup for an email
course in Lean Six Sigma Simplified at www.qimacros.com/freestuff.html.
Jay Arthur is the author of the QI Macros SPC Software for Excel which is used by over 2,500
hospitals to meet the requirements of the JCAHO (Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations).
On September 11th in Boston, Jay Arthur will give attendees at NAHQ concrete case studies about
how to improve healthcare speed and quality using Lean Six Sigma.
