Study: Lean Management Practices May Improve Patient Outcomes

Manufacturing management practices, including Lean, may improve processes of care in cardiac units, according to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine and reported by Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.

Researchers measured manufacturing management and organizational practices at 597 cardiac units with interventional cardiac catheterization laboratories and at least 25 acute myocardial infarction discharges per year. Researchers scored performance on 18 management practices according to four dimensions: standardizing care/Lean operations, tracking key performance indicators, setting targets and incentivizing employees.


Surveys of the cardiac units' nurse managers in 2010 revealed a wide range of performance on manufacturing management practices: Fewer than 20 percent of the hospitals had best practice (scored four or five on a five-point scale) on more than nine management measures.

High performance on manufacturing management practices was linked to lower mortality and six of six process measures. The authors concluded that large-scale adoption of manufacturing management practices may improve health outcomes.

More Articles on Lean:

15 Lean-Based Strategies to Cut Sterile Processing Error Rates
4 Hiring Tips to Support Lean Cultures in Hospitals

How Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Delaware Systematically Improved Its ED

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.

 

Featured Whitepapers

Featured Webinars