Six Sigma Blog: We deliver Lean and Six Sigma in Healthcare, says MMTC

September 01, 2006

We deliver Lean and Six Sigma in Healthcare, says MMTC

At the end of a Lean/Six Sigma healthcare pilot program run by the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center (MMTC), the hospital personnel who received the training have emerged with a positive frame of mind. In terms of figures, the hospitals expect the training to pay back anything between $2.8 and $4.1 million.

The training lasted for eight months, during which participants received inputs on improving processes such as increased surgical capacities, improved patient satisfaction along with faster emergency room care, quicker lab results, and shorter patient wait times for specialty clinic appointments.

Lean and Six Sigma principles are normally applied in the manufacturing sector, but the healthcare pilot program has clearly demonstrated that the concepts can be equally effectively applied to non-manufacturing sectors as well. Encouraged by the results of the pilot program, MMTC has envisioned even more ambitious plans:

[MMTC is] inviting hospitals throughout Southeast Michigan to attend and learn about the benefits of embracing LEAN/Six Sigma principles. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear testimony from one of the alumni pilot hospitals. MMTC will host the session on September 29th from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. at the headquarters of Automation Alley in Troy, Michigan.

Yahoo Finance has the full report.

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September 1, 2006 in Training | Permalink

Comments

Great post.

You may be interested in the following figures from the Institute of Medicine (US) 1999:
>Medical errors kill between 44,000 to 98,000 American citizens
> Medical errors kill more people per year than breast cancer, AIDS, or motor vehicle accidents
> 13.6% of 30,000 medical records, adverse events led to death

Here in the UK our National Health Service £1 billion infections are caught by patients. So a six sigma revolution is definitely needed! This is exactly what one regional health service is providing - check out [url=http://www.institute.nhs.uk/ServiceTransformation/Lean+Thinking/Lean+Six+Sigma.htm]this link[/url].

Posted by: robert thompson | Oct 29, 2006 12:26:35 AM