Maybe you’ve heard a few Lean horror stories, too, like how it’s just an excuse used by management to justify layoffs.
There’s a lot of confusion about what Lean healthcare really is and isn’t, and no two Lean hospitals look exactly the same. Of course, every community hospital is unique, struggling with its own set of challenges and focusing on its own institutional values – and its own approach to Lean. Yet, there are certain characteristics that every Lean community hospital shares. These are the real foundational elements, which demonstrate that the institution is embracing Lean healthcare principles.
In this blog, we’ll highlight some of the telltale signs that a community hospital is thinking Lean and focusing on delivering more value and efficiently.
A Relentless Focus On The Patient
Of course, every hospital talks about putting the patient first, but at a Lean hospital, this commitment to the patient goes quite a bit deeper. One concrete indication of a Lean organization is what you might hear as you walk through the hallways: staff at every level and in nearly every function talking about what they can do for their patients. That doesn’t mean just procedures, orders, billing and so on, but rather a real commitment to helping patients and understanding their experience at your hospital.
At a Lean community hospital, the patient is the focal point of nearly every conversation. And, while providing quality care to the patient is a universal goal throughout healthcare, the relentless commitment to the patient is a hallmark of a Lean healthcare organization.
Why is this so important? It’s become pretty standard for hospitals to view patients as customers and to take a lesson from the business world in terms of focusing on “customer” satisfaction. That’s certainly important on a financial level, as it’s a way to protect and/or extend market share to ensure the financial health of the institution. At a Lean hospital, however, the focus on the patient also provides an important lens through which to assess processes and procedures, evaluate strategic decisions and weigh budget tradeoffs. In other words: “What will deliver the most value to our patients?”
In this way, that hallway chatter about “what we can do for the patient” becomes a driving force behind everything the hospital tackles.
An Engaged And Effective Staff
One of the central tenets of Lean healthcare is the importance of respecting people. That begins with viewing each patient as an individual person with individual issues, and it also extends to valuing and elevating your staff as a whole. With an institutional focus on improving the patient’s experience and delivering more value, your staff is empowered to innovate in ways that deliver more value to each patient.
The result? Staff at every level and in every function are able to work efficiently and effectively. At a hospital that has been thinking Lean for a number of years, you’ll see less wasted effort from clinicians as they interact with the EHR, and you won’t see duplicate data entry or record keeping in Kardex files. You’ll see a consistent alignment between current patient demand and available staff, as well as the obvious signs of employees who feel they are able to succeed in their jobs and do what they care about: providing excellent patient care.
Engaged staff are that way because they’re both empowered and encouraged to do the right thing for patients.
Visible And Active Leaders
In a traditional pyramid organizational model, leaders are placed at the top, in their own little area, presiding over the rest of the institution. Lean thinking turns that pyramid on its head, with the broad base of patients elevated to the top, the team sitting right in the middle and leadership poised at the bottom to support it all.
Traditionally, leaders spend their time in corner offices and board rooms, tending to “the important business of the day.” And, yes, those functions are critical ones, but an effective leader in a Lean healthcare institution invests substantial time walking the hallways, engaged with team members and patients alike.
Honest, authentic engagement is the staple of a skilled Lean leader, so you’re simply likely to see the management team at a Lean hospital more often. After all, they’re not sequestered in offices and meetings. Instead, they’re present in waiting rooms, clinical wings, break rooms and nurses’ stations to observe the patient experience and staff workflow.
They’re also asking good questions – not just “How’s it going?” (which is often met with the unproductive, boss-pleasing answer), but rather more probing questions like “What can we do to make this work better?” and “What can we do to help you be more effective at your job?” or “What have your biggest challenges been this week?”
The Lean Journey Begins With A Single Question
Transitioning to Lean will require that your community hospital commit to an extended project that will touch every nook and cranny of the institution. But, the payoffs can be quite substantial; including improved patient satisfaction, happier clinicians and a healthier financial outlook.
Like any fundamental change in culture, the transition to Lean is, at times, difficult and complex. However, getting started is simple: commit to focusing tirelessly on viewing questions through your patients’ eyes and to asking yourself the most important question …
“What more can we do for our patients?”
Want to learn more about how you can make your facility more patient-focused? Read our free whitepaper, What Lean healthcare Really Is And How To Get Started In Your Hospital.
The views, opinions and positions expressed within these guest posts are those of the author alone and do not represent those of Becker’s Hospital Review/Becker’s Healthcare. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them.
