Chris Alcock and I have recently been researching the penetration of Lean or Six Sigma or Lean 6 Sigma in hospitals in the USA.
The above URL names the top 20 best hospitals in the USA, 2016, according to a detailed study undertaken by the US News magazine. (See also text attachment)
So I started from the top, seeing which ones had undertaken Lean / 6S / L6S initiatives.
1st place Hospital – yes
2nd place Hospital – yes
3rd place Hospital – yes
4th place Hospital – yes
…
9th place Hospital – yes
10th place Hospital – yes
…
19th place Hospital – yes
20th place Hospital – yes
All yes!
We have the URLs of our research as evidence.
We also found evidence of the use of Lean Six Sigma ( not just Lean )…
…hallelujah!
Cost Savings/Efficiencies
• Completed 18 LEAN/Six-Sigma projects with substantial sustained improvements; three were VA Network (Florida & Caribbean) award winners.
• Added three new dialysis stations to our unit with a projected savings in Non-VA Care of $500,000.
• Completed first renewable energy project by installing photovoltaic panels on two campus buildings that will reduce FP&L consumption by 50%.
Charleen R. Szabo is West Palm Beach VA Medical Center Director. For more information, visitwww.westpalmbeach.va.gov.
Conclusion: Lean 6 Sigma is used by all of the best hospitals in the USA. And Virginia Mason wasn’t even in the top 20!
That is a pretty powerful body of evidence in support of Lean and Six Sigma.
