By: Kendall Upton
Professional insights: Dr. Heather Alonge
Six Sigma, 5S method, agile, Kaizen, lean management—unless you’ve earned a business degree, there’s a chance you’ve never heard of these different business methodologies before. Each one aims to improve business operations in some way and can apply to numerous different industries.
In healthcare, lean management—which emphasizes curtailing waste—can be an incredibly valuable approach to doing business. Healthcare administrators should familiarize themselves with the concept of lean management so that they can implement its strategies within their organizations where applicable and ultimately improve patient outcomes.
What is lean management?
Lean management is a type of business strategy that aims to minimize waste and increase value for the customer. Though the term was not officially coined until the 1990s, the idea of lean management itself is tightly linked to the production model created by the Toyota Motor Company (TMC) in the mid-20th century.
“Lean management is an approach in project management that focuses on establishing value for consumers by minimizing waste and optimizing processes,” said Dr. Heather Alonge, PhD, MPH, a faculty member for the Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) program at Walden University. “Lean emphasizes continuous improvement, appreciation for people and effective use of resources.”
Lean management is an approach in project management that focuses on establishing value for consumers by minimizing waste and optimizing processes.
The principles of lean management can be applied to practically any industry, healthcare included. It may seem like waste elimination and improving consumer value are obvious goals for any business—and they generally are—but in reality, there are many other business philosophies that may be more appropriate for certain organizations.
“In healthcare administration, lean management can substantially increase productivity, reduce costs and improve patient outcomes and satisfactions. Key areas of use include streamlining administrative processes, optimizing patient flow, implementing just-in-time inventory systems, standardizing clinical pathways and engaging employees in continuous improvement initiatives. This allows healthcare systems to create a more effective, patient-centered condition that delivers high-quality care while limiting costs,” Alonge said.
Why healthcare administrators should care about lean management
If healthcare administrators and managers can implement lean management strategies in their roles—from the micro to macro level and everywhere in between—it can lead to improved patient outcomes, higher profits and greater employee retention, to name only a few of its potential benefits.
“Healthcare administrators should understand lean management principles because the principles substantially improve efficiency by eliminating waste and optimizing processes, which ultimately enhances patient care,” Alonge said. “These principles also help reduce operational costs by recognizing and eliminating non-value-added actions. Lean management nurtures a culture of continuous improvement, empowering staff to identify problems and solutions, leading to higher job satisfaction and better retention. Lean management enhances safety and reduces medical errors by standardizing processes and focusing on quality, eventually creating a more efficient, cost-effective and patient-centered healthcare system.”
When healthcare processes are organized, efficient and coherent, medical errors are less likely to occur. And when you consider that tens of thousands of people die from medical errors each year, the stakes for healthcare optimization are evident.
Examples of lean management in healthcare
Lean management in healthcare is all about eliminating waste and streamlining processes so they are as efficient and beneficial as possible. These operational pain points are going to vary from organization to organization, facility to facility and even department to department. Healthcare administrators should be able to evaluate their own work environment and speculate where improvements can be made.
There are eight types of operational waste that apply to any industry and can be aptly described with the acronym DOWNTIME:
So how might these play out in healthcare? Though this is by no means an exhaustive list, here are just some examples of operational waste in healthcare settings that lean management could help address:
How to implement lean management
If you want to start implementing lean management within your organization but aren’t sure where to begin, there are many different resources out there to help you learn more.
For starters, there are many seminars, workshops and training classes offered by a variety of organizations to help healthcare administrators learn about lean management in healthcare. One example is the Virginia Mason Institute, a healthcare training organization founded on the integrated healthcare management and quality improvement system developed and applied by Virginia Mason Health System. Now they offer training to help other organizations implement the lean management strategies that have worked for them.
Other organizations like the TWI Institute also offer training, certifications and business solutions—including lean training and programming—for individuals and businesses across numerous industries.
The Lean Enterprise Institute also has many online resources, events, courses and training solutions to learn about lean management.
Exceptions
Though it may seem like a management panacea that should be implemented in healthcare organizations everywhere, lean management may not be the best approach in every single scenario.
“While lean management is often valuable in healthcare, there are situations or times where it might not be the best methodology,” Alonge said. “For instance, in difficult, non-standardized processes unique to individual patients, lean principles can be difficult to apply effectively. During crises, the need for immediate action and rapid decision-making can reduce the systematic improvements that lean management highlights. Additionally, implementing lean practices requires time, training and resources, which might be scarce in some settings.”
