Today more than ever, healthcare organizations are being asked to execute on an extraordinary volume of work with limited resources. Doing “business as usual” is no longer a sustainable strategy, and organizations must engage in process improvement techniques to learn to do more with less.
The Iowa Healthcare Collaborative (IHC) strongly endorses the application of Lean in healthcare, and in 2006 collaborated with the Iowa Business Council in an effort to introduce Iowa healthcare organizations to Lean principles and techniques. IHC is fostering/facilitating the successful adoption of Lean in Iowa through a variety of educational initiatives, including:
- Lean Application Series
- Lean in Healthcare Toolkit
- Lean Regional Meetings
Lean Application Series
The Lean Application Series, formerly “Learning communities”, bring together multidisciplinary teams from any healthcare setting and offer a hands-on approach to learning and applying Lean tools to a project at their home facility. This multi-session program consists of learning sessions and action periods spread out over the year where teams share their experiences and results.
From 2007 to 2009 teams from hospitals, primary care clinics, home health agencies and nursing homes have learned the 5S, Value Stream Mapping, A3 and Standard Work tools.
In 2011, the IHC revamped the Lean Application series to focus on four improvement opportunities hospitals and clinics: emergency department wait times, transitions of care, patient flow, and medication reconciliation. Click here for the latest brochure
Lean in Healthcare Toolkit
The online educational toolkit makes Lean principles easy to access for healthcare providers across the state. The toolkit is a compilation of resources to support incorporation of Lean process improvement tools into healthcare facilities across Iowa.
Lean Regional Meetings
IHC received a federal earmark to drive best practices of Lean across the state to Iowa's hospitals where resources may already be limited. In November and December of 2010, the IHC offered a 3-day regional training to equip healthcare workers in the basic principles and applications of Lean. They introduced participants to history and culture of Lean, description of a subset of Lean tools with simulation exercise, provide a walking tour of a successful Lean facility at work, and explore how leadership and culture drive the application and sustainability of Lean in an organization.
Questions can be directed to Ryan Meyer