Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common lung disease causing restricted airflow and breathing problems. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, causing 3.5 million deaths in 2021, approximately 5% of all global deaths.* We’ll look at Lean and Six Sigma applications and finish with a video on the basics of COPD.
Combining Lean and Applied Research to Improve Care for Acute COPD
In a case study titled “Combining Lean and Applied Research methods to improve rigor and efficiency in acute care outcomes research: A case study” authors Andrew McWilliams and others discuss their Lean manufacturing and applied research framework to design, pilot, and iteratively improve a study protocol testing the effectiveness of an innovative care pathway for patients hospitalized with acute exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
The case study includes:
- Lean/Applied Research Evaluation Framework
- Lean Value Stream Map Derived COPD Clinical Pathway
- Patient Characteristics and Outcomes
Copy and paste the following link into your browser to read the case study.
Evaluating COPD Chronic Care Management
In a paper titled “Evaluation of COPD Chronic Care Management Collaborative to Reduce Emergency Department and Hospital Revisits Across U.S. Hospitals” authors Valerie G. Press, Kelly Randall, and Amber Hanser discuss their evaluation of a 6-month COPD Chronic Care Management Collaborative to support hospitals to reduce preventable COPD-related revisits.
Improvement collaboratives use an evidence-based Performance Improvement model that incorporates components of Lean, "plan-do-study-act," and Six Sigma’s “define-measure-analyze-improve-control,” etc., complementary to other methodologies used by enrolled hospitals.
The paper includes:
- Process, Outcome, and Financial Measures
- Aggregate Collaborative Group Performance Results
- Percentage of Change by Organization Among All Sites Regardless of Outcomes
- Process Measurement Distribution by Metric Selection
- COPD Collaborative Impactful Practices
Copy and paste the following link into your browser to read the paper.
Reducing COPD Readmission Rates
An article titled “Hospital Cuts COPD Readmission Rates with Bundle Checklist” discusses the development of a bundle checklist for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to enable a Maryland hospital to sharply reduce its readmission rates for these patients.
Piñeiro (Vanessa Piñeiro, , manager of respiratory care services) and task force members from several departments used the Lean Six Sigma approach to tackle the problem, including the DMAIC methodology.
You can read the article here.
The Basics of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
This video from the National, Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute covers the basics of COPD.
You can watch the video here.
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