Lean healthcare is slowly maturing amid increased adoption

Lean manufacturing is a very old set of philosophies and mindsets, dating back to World War II-era Japan. However, it has traditionally been relegated to manufacturing-related businesses, such as automakers or furniture factories. It wasn't until more recently that business leaders began deploying these practices in other fields, which gave rise to approaches such as Lean healthcare.

As such, while some sectors have had decades to perfect Lean integration, others are still working on applying the concepts to their sectors. In the field of healthcare, Lean operations are slowly maturing. This is partially due to the drive of Lean leaders and their belief in the processes, asserts Doug Woolsey of the Star Phoenix.

“During ongoing training and in many organizational disciplines including healthcare, the person who runs our lean department has invested more time learning it than a professional would invest in a four-year degree – and his training always continues,” Woolsey explains. “If this department did not show a good return on investment, we would not do it.”

Committing to Lean Healthcare

The key to adapting Lean to the healthcare arena is looking at the underlying concepts of the Toyota Production System. Yes, the TPS was originally designed for manufacturing cars, but that doesn't mean the theory behind it can't be applied elsewhere. The ability to discover these underlying concepts is key to developing an effective Lean healthcare system, and clinics that fail to do this and lose commitment will struggle to see the same results of other organizations.

Integrating Lean “requires ongoing commitment from the highest management at all times so the system does not become fragmented,” Woolsey adds. “The CEOs who make the decision to follow lean realize they are committing for the long haul – for decades. Really, their only other job is to source the correct lean leadership company (critical) to start the process of teaching – through doing – lean to individual leaders within the organization.”

So why is commitment important to successful Lean healthcare? The fact of the matter is that as is the case when making any other radical change to the way a company operates, Lean may at first take a little while to get accustomed to. However, Lean revolves around safety, care quality, delivery and cost, and as a result, will eventually enable leaders to develop a more productive healthcare organization.

The improvement of any one aspect of a hospital or clinic will no doubt lead to the eventual enhancement of another, doctors need only stay the course. For example, if safety, care quality, delivery and costs are goals, healthcare organizations shouldn't get discouraged if only costs go down at first. Declining costs could lead to other benefits – better ability to invest in new technology, salary raises for happier employees, etc. Healthcare facilities just need to stay committed.

Many doctors in North America are committing to Lean healthcare initiatives. In fact, a government-run healthcare program based in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan recently hired thousands of Lean consultants to aid the implementation of these practices and philosophies. By making this investment, the government hopes to help local practices grow more productive while also minimizing costs. This highlights precisely how effective Lean healthcare is in creating a better network of hospitals and private practices.