The methodology known as Lean Healthcare helps a health organization to improve in order to provide extraordinary experiences for the customer. The extensive experience gleaned throughout the world in the implementation of Lean Healthcare reveals that an organization that successfully implements the methodology dramatically improves the satisfaction of its customers (patients) and workers (care providers) and its operations (quality, security, profitability, and more).
In a healthcare organization composed of different sectors and different departments that must cooperate in harmony, there is extensive natural waste that is not taken care of, and when the work is observed as a cross-section, (which is the point of view of the customer-patient) it is possible to identify the waste and to deal with it. By mapping the major medical processes (value flow) in the organization, and through their constant improvement in PDCA cycles, the cross-sector teams, composed of doctors, nurses, managers, maintenance workers and technologists are able to create significant change in the way in which work is carried out, without any investment or addition of significant resources.
The patients, who directly experience all stages of the process, are important partners in this journey towards change, and their feedback provides critical fuel for the journey and the improvements. Usually, the patients’ point of view will teach the team about the process – the unnecessary waiting, unnecessary hassles between different professionals, repeated tests, and even more. The teams will find new ways to implement the work, and they will be better for everyone. By integrating the Lean Healthcare system, the treatment teams produce flowing processes and the best possible experience for the patient, which generates increase demand for the services of the organization and improves its competitiveness. A partial list of the organizations in the work that are implementing Lean Healthcare with the support of LGN includes:,
Mayo Clinic , Minnesota USA
Beth Israel Deaconess medical center (BIDMC) , Boston MA USA
Virginia Mason medical center, Seattle Washington USA
St. Luke’s health system, Boise USA
University of Michigan Health system, USA
Hotel-Dieu Grace hospital, Ontario Canada
Calderdale and Huddersfield (NHS), UK
Ashford and St. Peter’s hospitals (NHS), UK
Northampton general hospital (NHS), UK
Hospital de Siena, Italy
Hospital Clinic De Barcelona, Spain
Garraf health consortium, Barcelona Spain
Hospital de la santa creu i sant pau, Barcelona Spain
Hospital germans trias i pujol, Barcelona Spain