California hospital’s adoption of Lean practices establishes it as industry leader

Stanford Hospital & Clinics in Northern California has gathered a considerable reputation for quality care and service throughout its institutions. Most notably, the hospital has been acknowledged for advanced treatment of complex disorders related to cardiovascular care, cancer treatment, neurosciences, surgery and organ transplants, among others.

In its recent ranking of “America's Best Hospitals,” U.S. News and World Report placed Stanford Hospital at No. 17 in the nation and No. 1 in the San Jose metropolitan area. Becker's Hospital Review recently pointed out that the institution is also recognized for adopting recent medical breakthroughs into patient care and services.

Much of the hospital's success can be attributed to an organization-wide focus on Lean practices and quality improvement. Amir Dan Rubin, president and chief executive of Stanford Hospital, explains to the source that many of the core operations and processes that exist beneath the surface are instrumental to organizational performance, and cannot merely be accepted at face value.

“Here at Stanford we use the 'Lean' process improvement approach or methodology,” he told Becker's. “It derives from the Toyota Production System. It engages people to improve their performance and the performance of the hospital. You look at the hospital processes and identify which area is adding value, which area is delivering great value and which area is a waste of time.”

When it comes to healthcare management and service, Lean practices follow the idea that the systematic and continuous improvement of processes, in collaboration with an engaged workforce, can help develop a more focused institution that is constantly improving, Rubin added.

The challenges facing the U.S. healthcare industry are only mounting. Aside from decaying public health, the prospect of healthcare reform make for a logistics-heavy marketplace with an untold number of variables and considerations. For that reason, many healthcare organizations are taking influence from other industries, such as manufacturing, in addressing these obstacles.

“The manufacturing industry has long realized that one of the causes of waste is variability,” wrote Saurabh Jha and William Boonn, of the department of radiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, according to Health Imaging magazine. “Indeed, healthcare is borrowing conceptual models and science, such as Six Sigma, from the manufacturing industry to reduce or eliminate its own waste.”