to the manufacturing floor and have him/her watch someone performing a task; the new employee is told to watch until he/she sees a better way to do the job. These manufacturers know that the time spent doing this will save more time and money in duI want to tell you some ways to eliminate waste at your medical site. Am I talking about physical waste, like soiled bandages or used needles? No, I mean any action that results in a poor or unintended outcome. I mean taking too long to accomplish some outcome, like taking too long to get an operating room ready for the next surgery. The National Institute of Health in “Crossing the Quality Chasm” stated that any waiting time for a patient is a waste. A patient waiting past the time of his/ her scheduled appointment is an example. A patient having to wait too long to be admitted to a hospital after being seen in the emergency room is an example of poor processes—a waste. A patient who develops an infection after being treated or going through surgery is a good example of waste from unintended outcomes. These are just a few examples. I am sure that you are aware of many more.

Japanese manufacturers are leaders in eliminating waste. One trick they use is to send a new employee to the manufacturing floor and have him/her watch someone performing a task; the new employee is told to watch until he/she sees a better way to do the job. These manufacturers know that the time spent doing this will save more time and money in due

some outcome, like taking too long to get an operating room ready for the next surgery. The National Institute of Health in “Crossing the Quality Chasm” stated that any waiting time for a patient is a waste. A patient waiting past the time of his/ her scheduled appointment is an example. A patient having to wait too long to be admitted to a hospital after being seen in the emergency room is an example of poor processes—a waste. A patient who develops an infection after being treated or going through surgery is a good example of waste from unintended outcomes. These are just a few examples. I am sure that you are aware of many more.

Japanese manufacturers are leaders in eliminating waste. One trick they use is to send a new employee to the manufacturing floor and have him/her watch someone performing a task; the new employee is told to watch until he/she sees a better way to do the job. These manufacturers know that the time spent doing this will save more time and money in du

her scheduled appointment is an example. A patient having to wait too long to be admitted to a hospital after being seen in the emergency room is an example of poor processes—a waste. A patient who develops an infection after being treated or going through surgery is a good example of waste from unintended outcomes. These are just a few examples. I am sure that you are aware of many more.

Japanese manufacturers are leaders in eliminating waste. One trick they use is to send a new employee to the manufacturing floor and have him/her watch someone performing a task; the new employee is told to watch until he/she sees a better way to do the job. These manufacturers know that the time spent doing this will save more time and money in du

through surgery is a good example of waste from unintended outcomes. These are just a few examples. I am sure that you are aware of many more.

Japanese manufacturers are leaders in eliminating waste. One trick they use is to send a new employee to the manufacturing floor and have him/her watch someone performing a task; the new employee is told to watch until he/she sees a better way to do the job. These manufacturers know that the time spent doing this will save more time and money in du

to the manufacturing floor and have him/her watch someone performing a task; the new employee is told to watch until he/she sees a better way to do the job. These manufacturers know that the time spent doing this will save more time and money in due time. Hospitals and healthcare sites are not manufacturing plants, though. Yet many of the same principals can be applied. The effort will more than pay for itself. In fact, savings of 3 to 100 times the investment is not unusual. The movement going on in the healthcare field adapted from the Japanese manufacturers is commonly called “lean healthcare.” Perhaps you have heard of some of the terms associated with it, like Kaisen events or poka-yoke. You don’t have to be a master of these tools and terms to make good use of them, though. Many are just applying logic with common sense.

The tools are best applied in efficient working teams or groups where some problems with processes or outcomes are already agreed upon. If the working group is larger than 3 or 4 people I suggest that one tool you use are string and 3 by 5 cards. You are going to use these to map out a process from beginning to end and see if the group can find waste and suggest ways to eliminate it. Use the ca