First few Article Sentences
Best known as the driving force beyond car manufacturer Toyota’s success, Lean production practices “consider the expenditure of resources for any goal other than the creation of value for the end customer to be wasteful, and thus a target for elimination.” (Wikipedia) In healthcare organizations, using a car manufacturer’s method, however successful, to address operational issues may have once seemed like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. That’s no longer the case.
When you apply Lean practices to healthcare, the patient is the end customer. So, any resource expenditure not creating value for the patient is wasteful. Furthermore, improving quality saves not only dollars, but helps prevent harm to patients. Following are examples of how healthcare organizations are putting the elimination of waste at the heart of their approach to quality and patient care.