A multidisciplinary team led by nursing leadership and
physicians developed a plan to meet increasing demand
and improve the patient experience in the ED without
expanding the department’s current resources. The approach
included Lean tools and engaged frontline staff
and physicians. Applying Lean management principles
resulted in quicker service, improved patient satisfaction,
increased capacity, and reduced resource utilization.
Incorporating continuous daily management
is necessary for sustainment of continuous improvement
activities.
The development of the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act1 has placed increased pressure on healthcare
providers to reduce waste and increase efficiency
while maintaining and improving the quality of care.
With finite operational resources, healthcare organizations
are applying waste reduction principles, and
in particular Lean methodologies, to address this issue.
Lean management principles are derived from the Toyota
Production System (TPS)2 and focus on maximizing
efficiency. In the TPS model, efficiency is maximized
when tasks are completed with the least amount of
resources or in the least number of processes, while
maintaining the quality of the product being developed.
As a system, the goal of TPS is to continually
seek ways to improve. For these reasons, Lean has
been adapted for use in healthcare settings in the
United States and abroad