The application of Lean Six Sigma methodology to reduce the risk of healthcare–associated infections in surgery departments

Montella, Emma; Cicco, Maria Vincenza Di; Ferraro, Antonino; Centobelli, Piera; Raiola, Eliana; Triassi, Maria; Improta, Giovanni

doi:10.1111/jep.12662

Cited by 91 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 31 publications

(44 reference statements)

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“…Figure highlights the correlation between the number of colonized patients and the number of treatments that those patients received, which are here generically called “procedures,” i.e., the number of diagnostic and/or therapeutic procedures administered to each patients within the observation period. The estimated percentage of colonized patients was 0.36% (325 colonized patients), which was similar to the share (0.37%) observed in surgery departments . Chi‐square tests revealed a correlation between the number of procedures and the risk of HAIs.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The aim of the present study, which is part of the same LSS Methodology to Reduce Healthcare Infections project, is to apply LSS to clinical medicine areas (general medicine, pulmonology, oncology, nephrology, cardiology, neurology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, and diabetology) to enable the identification of variables that influence HAI risk in these areas and to compare them with HAI risk in surgery departments. To exploit the wide variety of LSS tools available and make the study robust, we applied different tools from those considered in our previous study …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…46,47 That is, they are expected to have both technical and managerial competences. 46,47 We recently applied LSS to reducing the number of patients affected by sentinel bacterial in surgery departments, 48 which resulted in a significant reduction in both the number of hospitalization days and the number of patients with HAIs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To exploit the wide variety of LSS tools available and make the study robust, we applied different tools from those considered in our previous study. 48 This analysis was conducted at Federico II University Hospital in Naples (Italy) from January 2011 to December 2016 on 28,000 patients. We were able to develop corrective actions to improve the overall performance of the services examined.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Reducing the risk of healthcare‐associated infections through Lean Six Sigma: The case of the medicine areas at the Federico II University Hospital in Naples (Italy)

Improta¹,

Cesarelli

Montuori³

et al. 2017

Evaluation Clinical Practice

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Rationale, aims, and objectivesLean Six Sigma (LSS) has been recognized as an effective management tool for improving healthcare performance. Here, LSS was adopted to reduce the risk of healthcare‐associated infections (HAIs), a critical quality parameter in the healthcare sector.MethodsLean Six Sigma was applied to the areas of clinical medicine (including general medicine, pulmonology, oncology, nephrology, cardiology, neurology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, and diabetology), and data regarding HAIs were collected for 28,000 patients hospitalized between January 2011 and December 2016. Following the LSS define, measure, analyse, improve, and control cycle, the factors influencing the risk of HAI were identified by using typical LSS tools (statistical analyses, brainstorming sessions, and cause‐effect diagrams). Finally, corrective measures to prevent HAIs were implemented and monitored for 1 year after implementation.ResultsLean Six Sigma proved to be a useful tool for identifying variables affecting the risk of HAIs and implementing corrective actions to improve the performance of the care process. A reduction in the number of patients colonized by sentinel bacteria was achieved after the improvement phase.ConclusionsThe implementation of an LSS approach could significantly decrease the percentage of patients with HAIs.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reducing the risk of healthcare‐associated infections through Lean Six Sigma: The case of the medicine areas at the Federico II University Hospital in Naples (Italy)

Improta¹,

Cesarelli

Montuori³

et al. 2017

Evaluation Clinical Practice

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“…The literature has several examples that tackle numerous problems, including reducing medical errors [14], improving pharmacist dispensing errors [15], lessening medication dispensing time [16], identifying variables affecting the risk of healthcare associated infections and decreasing the percentage of patients with healthcare associated infections [17, 18], and decreasing the length of stay and treatment imaging [19] just to mention few.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Six Sigma DMAIC Methodology and Discrete Event Simulation to Reduce Patient Discharge Time in King Hussein Cancer Center

Arafeh

Barghash

Haddad

et al. 2018

Journal of Healthcare Engineering

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Short discharge time from hospitals increases both bed availability and patients' and families' satisfaction. In this study, the Six Sigma process improvement methodology was applied to reduce patients' discharge time in a cancer treatment hospital. Data on the duration of all activities, from the physician signing the discharge form to the patient leaving the treatment room, were collected through patient shadowing. These data were analyzed using detailed process maps and cause-and-effect diagrams. Fragmented and unstandardized processes and procedures and a lack of communication among the stakeholders were among the leading causes of long discharge times. Categorizing patients by their needs enabled better design of the discharge processes. Discrete event simulation was utilized as a decision support tool to test the effect of the improvements under different scenarios. Simplified and standardized processes, improved communications, and system-wide management are among the proposed improvements, which reduced patient discharge time by 54% from 216 minutes. Cultivating the necessary ownership through stakeholder analysis is an essential ingredient of sustainable improvement efforts.

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ThedaCare Nutrition Risk Screen Improves the Identification of Non–Intensive Care Unit Patients at Risk for Malnutrition Compared With the Nutrition Risk Screen 2002

Hartz

Stroup

Bibelnieks

et al. 2018

J Parenter Enteral Nutr

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The application of Lean Six Sigma methodology to reduce the risk of healthcare–associated infections in surgery departments

Abstract: This approach, together with other tools for reducing the risk of infection (surveillance, epidemiological guidelines, and training of healthcare personnel), could be applied to redesign and improve a wide range of healthcare processes.

Cited by 91 publications

References 31 publications

Reducing the risk of healthcare‐associated infections through Lean Six Sigma: The case of the medicine areas at the Federico II University Hospital in Naples (Italy)

Reducing the risk of healthcare‐associated infections through Lean Six Sigma: The case of the medicine areas at the Federico II University Hospital in Naples (Italy)

Using Six Sigma DMAIC Methodology and Discrete Event Simulation to Reduce Patient Discharge Time in King Hussein Cancer Center

ThedaCare Nutrition Risk Screen Improves the Identification of Non–Intensive Care Unit Patients at Risk for Malnutrition Compared With the Nutrition Risk Screen 2002

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