Lean Six Sigma for Healthcare

Explore how lean six sigma drives healthcare quality across six domains: safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable, evidenced by declines in hospital acquired conditions and continuous system improvement.

Explore how lean six sigma and performance improvement support regulatory and accreditation standards, including CMS QAPI requirements under title 42 CFR 482.21 and Joint Commission RPI.

Identify and reduce the eight Lean wastes in healthcare: defects, overproduction, waiting, non-utilized talent, transportation, inventory, motion, and extra processing, using downtime as a guide.

Define the problem and goal in the define phase of dmaic, decide whether a project is needed, and form a team.

Identify the problem type and select the right tool—root cause analysis for single events, just do it for simple issues, or a Dmaic project for complex, recurring ones.

Learn how to measure performance using metrics with numerator and denominator calculations, including exclusions, understand outcome vs process measures, and apply examples like 30-day readmissions, patient satisfaction, and pre-surgical checklists.

Define and document the data collection plan, a table of outcome and process measures, detailing definitions, data sources, collection methods, frequency, reliability checks, and roles for data collection.

Explore problem solving types, Lean Six Sigma for healthcare, focusing on root cause analysis. Compare with hypothesis based problem solving and upstream thinking to decide when to use each approach.

Analyze healthcare processes by balancing demand, capacity, and flow while minimizing waste and bottlenecks; focus on value-added steps and timely triage to improve efficiency.

Verify and understand potential root causes through root cause analysis, data analysis, and reviewing the current state process map, considering the eight wastes.

In the improve phase, brainstorm with the team to generate and clarify ideas, then prioritize using a pick chart and multi-voting. Focus on high-impact, low-difficulty ideas in a democratic process.

Transform improvement ideas into a concrete action plan by listing tasks with owners, dates, and status, prioritizing with a pick chart, and reviewing progress to solve problems faster.

Learn how daily huddles and communication boards drive Lean Six Sigma for healthcare improvements by aligning teams around clear targets, tracking progress, and resolving issues quickly.

Reflect on your healthcare experiences and apply Lean Six Sigma tools across the DMAIC five phases to fix broken processes, recognizing some problems don’t require a project.