Importance Of Lean Thinking

Question 1:

In the 21st century, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported that many medical incidents have occurred by human error so they expressed to build a safer health system to reduce the error and provide the high quality of care to patients. Summed up the literature, quality defined that healthcare workers followed the current professional standards to apply in the patient care and prevention of unnecessary harm, and achieve patient’s expectations. IOM also identified that the concept of quality has included six key elements which are effective, timely, equitable, efficient, patient-centered and safe. Moreover, leadership has needed to monitor and manage the improvement process due to different of elements have affected the quality

In Hong Kong, healthcare organizations have faced the problem of increase in the number of patients, budget cuts and a shortage of healthcare staffs so they selected to use the Lean thinking strategy. Lean thinking is developed from Toyota Production System by Jim Womack during the late 1980s. Lean thinking means to use minimal or limited resources or costs and eliminating waste, and to adding value to all work and meeting patient needs and expectations to continuously improving the quality of care. Also lean acts as a process of improvement and change management. Nave (2002) and Snee (2004) described that the framework of lean has included five basic steps which are identify customer’s value, identify and map the value stream, create flow by eliminating waste, establish pull and work to perfection. Moreover lean also applied in the ordering of product or materials from pharmacy or material supply department. The other aim of lean thinking is eliminating the wastes which are transportation, time, excess inventory, overproduction, inappropriate processing, defects and unnecessary motion (Bhasin and Burcher, 2006). For example, the New Territories West Cluster Hospital in Hong Kong in 2009 was established a Lean Office and applied the lean management to improve the patient waiting time in the emergency department (ED) and overcrowded environment in medical ward. At last, they promoted the emergency ward (EMW) and transfer patient to EMW. As a result, they have succeeded to solve the waiting time for admission in ED and shortage of medical bed. Therefore lean thinking management is the best management strategy for the healthcare organization due to the low cost and gets the high quality of care for maintain the quality