Proof in the Pudding : Lean Can be a Great Risk Worth Taking
Proving that there is an absolutely great payoff for bringing leaner thinking on-board his reader’s company, “Lean Blog” writer, Mark Graban, discussed lean (more specifically, continuous improvement), the PDCA process, and the need for going to the gemba in his blog post, titled “Lean Effort Pays Big” in a Colorado Springs Hospital.
Via info from Memorial Health System (MHS) staffer, Justin Lewis, Graban noted that Lewis’ employer incorporated a lean production system into its everyday business. This ideology included principles of “continuous improvement and respect for people” as Graban explains, in order to deal with issues related to the radiology department’s flow and performance.
Through Lewis’ data, Graban cites an overview of the hospital’s successful results:
▪ CT scans increased by 5 scans per day (with additional capacity to schedule another 5 per day)
▪ Reductions in waiting times for CT scheduling and registration
▪ Process improvements that led to fewer insurance billing denials and increased billing — millions of dollars per year in financial impact
Pondering about the process improvements for billing as well as revenue increases vs cost reduction, Graban points out that the lean results are “…far more palatable than resorting to the traditional healthcare cost cutting and layoffs.”
Graban discussed how MHS’s use of the PDCA model and visiting the gemba, or place of action, benefited the system, even though it had challenges and criticism “out of the gate” which threatened the potential for bringing a new way of doing things to fruition. Ultimately, the staff at MHS decided that the benefits far outweighed the risks initially perceived.
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