Utilization of lean management principles in the ambulatory clinic setting.
Nat Clin Pract Urol
; 6(3): 146-53, 2009 Mar.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-19265856
ABSTRACT
The principles of 'lean management' have permeated many sectors of today's business world, secondary to the success of the Toyota Production System. This management method enables workers to eliminate mistakes, reduce delays, lower costs, and improve the overall quality of the product or service they deliver. These lean management principles can be applied to health care. Their implementation within the ambulatory care setting is predicated on the continuous identification and elimination of waste within the process. The key concepts of flow time, inventory and throughput are utilized to improve the flow of patients through the clinic, and to identify points that slow this process -- so-called bottlenecks. Nonessential activities are shifted away from bottlenecks (i.e. the physician), and extra work capacity is generated from existing resources, rather than being added. The additional work capacity facilitates a more efficient response to variability, which in turn results in cost savings, more time for the physician to interact with patients, and faster completion of patient visits. Finally, application of the lean management principle of 'just-in-time' management can eliminate excess clinic inventory, better synchronize office supply with patient demand, and reduce costs.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Gestão da Qualidade Total
/
Instituições de Assistência Ambulatorial
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Nat Clin Pract Urol
Assunto da revista:
UROLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2009
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos