What are some of the applications of Lean and Six Sigma in the operating room? We take a look at three: two from New York and one from China. We’ll finish with a video tour of the Royal London Hospital Neurosurgery Operating Theater.
Using Lean and Six Sigma to Improve Operating Room Efficiency: New York
In a paper titled “Use of Lean and Six Sigma Methodology to Improve Operating Room Efficiency in a High-Volume Tertiary-Care Academic Medical Center,” authors Robert R Cima and others discuss the use of Lean and Six Sigma methodologies to increase OR efficiency and financial performance across an entire operating suite.
The paper includes:
- Current State Map: Current state value stream map of patient flow at the time of the surgical consultation
- Current State Map: From surgery and then discharge
- Objectives of the Five Work Streams, Findings, and Process Improvement
- Key Performance Metrics Before and After Improvements
- Sustained Performance Over Time for Key Metrics
Process improvements were introduced across all the entire surgical practice based on positive results for the three surgical specialties in the study.
You can read the paper here.
Six Sigma and Patient Safety in the Perioperative Process: New York
In a paper titled “Using Six Sigma to Improve Patient Safety in the Perioperative Process,” author Patton McGinley discusses the use of Six Sigma to improve compliance to the safety process and to introduce a robust approach to patient safety and quality.
The paper includes:
- SIPOC for Patient Entering and Leaving OR
- Cause and Effect Diagram for Percent Safety Compliance
- FMEA
- Improvement Phase Strategies
As a result of the project, the percentage of the process that is acceptable to the customer was raised from 22% to 86.50% and the variation related to completing the safety process was reduced to between 3 and 4 minutes.
You can read Patton’s paper here.
Reducing Unplanned Surgery Cancellations Through Lean Six Sigma: China
In a case study titled “Applying Lean Six Sigma to Reduce the Incidence of Unplanned Surgery Cancellation at a Large Comprehensive Tertiary Hospital in China,” authors Ling-Feng Zhu and others discuss the application of Lean Six Sigma to reduce unplanned surgery cancellations.
The case study includes:
- Surgical Procedures Flowchart
- Fishbone Diagram for Surgery Cancellation
- List of Quick Hit Actions
- Preoperative Anesthetic Assessment After Improvement
- Process of Submitting Operative Notice Before and After Improvement
- Control Chart of Unplanned Cancellations Before and After Improvement
- Incidence of Unplanned Cancellations from 2015 to 2019.
Improvement reduced unplanned cancellations from 10.21% to 3.8% during 2016.
You can access the case study here
[Required Citation: Zhu, Ling-Feng et al. “Applying Lean Six Sigma to Reduce the Incidence of Unplanned Surgery Cancellation at a Large Comprehensive Tertiary Hospital in China.” Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing vol. 57 (2020): 46958020953997. doi:10.1177/0046958020953997]
The Royal London Hospital Neurosurgery Operating Theater
See a short video tour of Royal the London Hospital Neurosurgery Operating Theater.
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