If hospitals are having problems dealing with capacity management in their emergency department, a solution using Lean techniques could get the hospital back on course, according to a post at CEP America's Acute Care Continuum blog.
In addition, hospitals should not just use Lean to isolate and solve a single problem. Lean could be used for continuous problem solving, which will lead to ideal ED performance. Here are the nine basic Lean steps a hospital can use to map out a problem in the ED.
1. Problem awareness.
2. Clarify the problem.
3. Support with physical evidence.
4. Collect data to support hypothesis.
5. Define the problem.
6. Conduct root cause analysis.
7. Implement a change aimed at achieving the desired state.
8. Assess the impact of change.
9. Take additional action to maintain/continue improvement toward the next desired state.
In addition, hospitals should not just use Lean to isolate and solve a single problem. Lean could be used for continuous problem solving, which will lead to ideal ED performance. Here are the nine basic Lean steps a hospital can use to map out a problem in the ED.
1. Problem awareness.
2. Clarify the problem.
3. Support with physical evidence.
4. Collect data to support hypothesis.
5. Define the problem.
6. Conduct root cause analysis.
7. Implement a change aimed at achieving the desired state.
8. Assess the impact of change.
9. Take additional action to maintain/continue improvement toward the next desired state.
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Adventist Medical Center Using CEP America for Inpatient Management