Deployment of Lean Six Sigma in Care Coordination

Abstract

The quality improvement project demonstrated the significant role case management plays in preventing costly readmissions and improving outcomes for patients through better transitions of care from the hospital to the community. By utilizing Lean Six Sigma methodology, hospitals can focus on eliminating waste in their current processes and build more sustainable improvements to deliver a safe, quality, discharge process for their patients. Case managers are leading this effort to improve care transitions and assure a smoother transition into the community postdischarge..

Clinical pharmacist home visits and 30‐day readmissions in Medicare Advantage beneficiaries

“…In fiscal year 2015, more conditions were added to the list, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and several vascular and cardiac surgeries. Multiple transitions of care programmes have been developed to date with the goal to reduce preventable readmissions [3–7]. For example, the American College of Cardiology developed interventions to reduce readmissions in patients with cardiovascular disease, including planning early post‐discharge follow‐up visit, medication management and patient self‐activation to recognize and interpret symptoms in a timely manner [7].…”

Decreasing the dispatch time of medical reports sent from hospital to primary care with Lean Six Sigma

“…The project was set up according to the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology. Lean Six Sigma, a combination of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma, is a trend in the quality improvement of the organization of health care [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. Lean Manufacturing provides standard analysis tools and techniques with the intention of mapping out and removing inefficiencies, while Six Sigma offers a structured roadmap to reduce variation in organizational processes by analysing performance metrics and uncovering root causes [22].…”

Experiences of nurse case managers within a central discharge planning role of collaboration between physicians, patients and other healthcare professionals: A sociocultural qualitative study

“…Parker (2012) portrays the NCM as a registered nurse with the authority and responsibility to care for high-risk patients and broker and coordinate this care. Additionally, NCMs have a role in communicating a proposed care plan to patients (Breslin, Hamilton, & Paynter, 2014). Terra (2007) observed NCMs working across wards and departments and Yamamoto and Lucey (2005) have noted NCMs having responsibility for the conduction of multidisciplinary care rounds.…”

“…The outcomes, which impact on the reduction in readmission rates and length of stay, internationally are attributed to the NCM role (Breslin et al, 2014;Yamamoto & Lucey, 2005). Whilst these findings are early indicators, little is known about how NCMs achieve these potential outcomes through their collaborative activities.…”