Hospitals and Healthcare

Heroic  (and Stress Filled) Efforts:

Healthcare work processes are less healthy than many of the Patients!  The day is  filled with unnecessary issues and workarounds. The need for frequent heroics is stressful. The mounting costs involved are attracting more and more attention.

Yes, every Patient is unique.  At the same time, why can’t the routine work actually follow a routine that works?

Structured Flexibility

AptoLean is a structured way to understand both the work and the people around you doing that work.  Reality plus teamwork results in processes that are flexible when the patient needs demand and structured when the best way is already an available routine.

Healthcare Example:

A Cardiac Catheterization Lab faced problems typical of most Hospital processes. Daily challenges of scheduling, Pre-admission testing, Room turnaround and Patient discharges resulted cases starting late and the day running long.

Partnering with the CathLab Director, careful process observation was the foundation of understanding the existing flow issues. Data was made visible to the staff, painting an easy to understand picture of the situation. Over a period of just a few months, the complete value stream from Patient arrival to discharge became engaged in improvement.

Results?

Dozens and dozens of small issues solved. The accumulated effect: the effective capacity of the Lab increased by over 25%. This increased capacity was valued at many millions of dollars of Contribution Margin. At the same time, this Team found over $200,000 in first year cost. Add to this the benefits of increased Patient, Staff and Doctor satisfaction. The out of pocket investment for all this was miminal.

Similarly, significant results have occurred using Adaptive Lean Six Sigma at Fox Chase Cancer Center, Temple University Hospital System, and CamCare in Camden, NJ.

Good for Staff means Great for Patients

AptoLean enables Staff members to design and implement improved processes. Healthy processes translate to healthier patients and happier Staff. Start doing today! Contact John Muka and AptoLean to learn more about taking the next step.