- Blog Categories
- Project Management
- Agile Management
- IT Service Management
- Cloud Computing
- Business Management
- Business Intelligence
- Quality Engineer
- Cyber Security
- Career
- Big Data
- Programming
- Most Popular Blogs
- PMP Exam Schedule for 2024: Check PMP Exam Date
- Top 60+ PMP Exam Questions and Answers for 2024
- PMP Cheat Sheet and PMP Formulas To Use in 2024
- What is PMP Process? A Complete List of 49 Processes of PMP
- Top 15+ Project Management Case Studies with Examples 2024
- Top Picks by Authors
- Top 170 Project Management Research Topics
- What is Effective Communication: Definition
- How to Create a Project Plan in Excel in 2024?
- PMP Certification Exam Eligibility in 2024 [A Complete Checklist]
- PMP Certification Fees - All Aspects of PMP Certification Fee
- Most Popular Blogs
- CSM vs PSM: Which Certification to Choose in 2024?
- How Much Does Scrum Master Certification Cost in 2024?
- CSPO vs PSPO Certification: What to Choose in 2024?
- 8 Best Scrum Master Certifications to Pursue in 2024
- Safe Agilist Exam: A Complete Study Guide 2024
- Top Picks by Authors
- SAFe vs Agile: Difference Between Scaled Agile and Agile
- Top 21 Scrum Best Practices for Efficient Agile Workflow
- 30 User Story Examples and Templates to Use in 2024
- State of Agile: Things You Need to Know
- Top 24 Career Benefits of a Certifed Scrum Master
- Most Popular Blogs
- ITIL Certification Cost in 2024 [Exam Fee & Other Expenses]
- Top 17 Required Skills for System Administrator in 2024
- How Effective Is Itil Certification for a Job Switch?
- IT Service Management (ITSM) Role and Responsibilities
- Top 25 Service Based Companies in India in 2024
- Top Picks by Authors
- What is Escalation Matrix & How Does It Work? [Types, Process]
- ITIL Service Operation: Phases, Functions, Best Practices
- 10 Best Facility Management Software in 2024
- What is Service Request Management in ITIL? Example, Steps, Tips
- An Introduction To ITIL® Exam
- Most Popular Blogs
- A Complete AWS Cheat Sheet: Important Topics Covered
- Top AWS Solution Architect Projects in 2024
- 15 Best Azure Certifications 2024: Which one to Choose?
- Top 22 Cloud Computing Project Ideas in 2024 [Source Code]
- How to Become an Azure Data Engineer? 2024 Roadmap
- Top Picks by Authors
- Top 40 IoT Project Ideas and Topics in 2024 [Source Code]
- The Future of AWS: Top Trends & Predictions in 2024
- AWS Solutions Architect vs AWS Developer [Key Differences]
- Top 20 Azure Data Engineering Projects in 2024 [Source Code]
- 25 Best Cloud Computing Tools in 2024
- Most Popular Blogs
- Company Analysis Report: Examples, Templates, Components
- 400 Trending Business Management Research Topics
- Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK): Guide
- ECBA Certification: Is it Worth it?
- How to Become Business Analyst in 2024? Step-by-Step
- Top Picks by Authors
- Top 20 Business Analytics Project in 2024 [With Source Code]
- ECBA Certification Cost Across Countries
- Top 9 Free Business Requirements Document (BRD) Templates
- Business Analyst Job Description in 2024 [Key Responsibility]
- Business Analysis Framework: Elements, Process, Techniques
- Most Popular Blogs
- Best Career options after BA [2024]
- Top Career Options after BCom to Know in 2024
- Top 10 Power Bi Books of 2024 [Beginners to Experienced]
- Power BI Skills in Demand: How to Stand Out in the Job Market
- Top 15 Power BI Project Ideas
- Top Picks by Authors
- 10 Limitations of Power BI: You Must Know in 2024
- Top 45 Career Options After BBA in 2024 [With Salary]
- Top Power BI Dashboard Templates of 2024
- What is Power BI Used For - Practical Applications Of Power BI
- SSRS Vs Power BI - What are the Key Differences?
- Most Popular Blogs
- Data Collection Plan For Six Sigma: How to Create One?
- Quality Engineer Resume for 2024 [Examples + Tips]
- 20 Best Quality Management Certifications That Pay Well in 2024
- Six Sigma in Operations Management [A Brief Introduction]
- Top Picks by Authors
- Six Sigma Green Belt vs PMP: What's the Difference
- Quality Management: Definition, Importance, Components
- Adding Green Belt Certifications to Your Resume
- Six Sigma Green Belt in Healthcare: Concepts, Benefits and Examples
- Most Popular Blogs
- Latest CISSP Exam Dumps of 2024 [Free CISSP Dumps]
- CISSP vs Security+ Certifications: Which is Best in 2024?
- Best CISSP Study Guides for 2024 + CISSP Study Plan
- How to Become an Ethical Hacker in 2024?
- Top Picks by Authors
- CISSP vs Master's Degree: Which One to Choose in 2024?
- CISSP Endorsement Process: Requirements & Example
- OSCP vs CISSP | Top Cybersecurity Certifications
- How to Pass the CISSP Exam on Your 1st Attempt in 2024?
- Most Popular Blogs
- Best Career options after BA [2024]
- Top Picks by Authors
- Top Career Options & Courses After 12th Commerce in 2024
- Recommended Blogs
- 30 Best Answers for Your 'Reason for Job Change' in 2024
- Recommended Blogs
- Time Management Skills: How it Affects your Career
- Most Popular Blogs
- Top 28 Big Data Companies to Know in 2024
- Top Picks by Authors
- Top Big Data Tools You Need to Know in 2024
- Most Popular Blogs
- Web Development Using PHP And MySQL
- Top Picks by Authors
- Top 30 Software Engineering Projects in 2024 [Source Code]
- More
- Tutorials
- Practise Tests
- Interview Questions
- Free Courses
- Agile & PMP Practice Tests
- Agile Testing
- Agile Scrum Practice Exam
- CAPM Practice Test
- PRINCE2 Foundation Exam
- PMP Practice Exam
- Cloud Related Practice Test
- Azure Infrastructure Solutions
- AWS Solutions Architect
- AWS Developer Associate
- IT Related Pratice Test
- ITIL Practice Test
- Devops Practice Test
- TOGAF® Practice Test
- Other Practice Test
- Oracle Primavera P6 V8
- MS Project Practice Test
- Project Management & Agile
- Project Management Interview Questions
- Release Train Engineer Interview Questions
- Agile Coach Interview Questions
- Scrum Interview Questions
- IT Project Manager Interview Questions
- Cloud & Data
- Azure Databricks Interview Questions
- AWS architect Interview Questions
- Cloud Computing Interview Questions
- AWS Interview Questions
- Kubernetes Interview Questions
- Web Development
- CSS3 Free Course with Certificates
- Basics of Spring Core and MVC
- Javascript Free Course with Certificate
- React Free Course with Certificate
- Node JS Free Certification Course
- Data Science
- Python Machine Learning Course
- Python for Data Science Free Course
- NLP Free Course with Certificate
- Data Analysis Using SQL
Six Sigma in Healthcare: Its Role, Benefits, Examples
Updated on 12 August, 2022
11.09K+ views
• 8 min read
Table of Contents
The Six Sigma methodology is becoming increasingly important across diverse industries, especially the healthcare sector. Lately, the healthcare sector has been experiencing significant advantages of the six sigma methods. With the healthcare practitioners, such as doctors and the management, gaining awareness regarding various issues that can adversely affect the quality of healthcare services being offered to the patients, they are pressing on using the Six Sigma methodology in healthcare for better results.
With the help of online Six Sigma Certification courses, you can gain the requisite knowledge to increase the operational efficiency of your organization. This article will help you with all the information you need regarding the role and benefits of Six Sigma in healthcare, along with certain examples.
The Role Of Six Sigma In Healthcare
The healthcare industry and all its stakeholders, such as the hospitals, medical centers for testing, care homes, etc., deal with a copious amount of patient data. Even a little error or misplacement in this data can cause great repercussions- putting patients' lives at risk. Therefore, it is important to make the processes and the workflow in the healthcare sector flawless.
The data-driven approach offered by Six Sigma for quality improvement in healthcare helps provide significant levels of rectification and advancement to the systems and processes in healthcare. In doing so, the DMAIC method plays a major role.
Understanding DMAIC
With the following five steps of DMAIC, Six Sigma healthcare enhances the quality of operations and procedures of working in the healthcare sector-
Defines
The first step is answering questions related to the goal that needs to be accomplished. The objectives are identified, and the customers' requirements, who in this scenario are the patients, is taken into consideration. Also, the processes to be measured or enhanced are carefully studied, and factors such as their capacities, shortcomings, areas of improvement, etc., are assessed.
Measure
By using metrics and statistics, the levels that would be considered sufficient is recognized. Generally, parameters such as service level, service cost, clinical excellence, and patient satisfaction are used to define the quality of a process in the healthcare sector. A benchmark to be achieved is set, and the methods using which it will be measured are also devised.
Analyze
The requisite data is collected and analyzed using the tools of Six Sigma, to see what characteristics or loopholes the processes are depicting.
Improve
Based on the collected and analyzed data, a plan is formulated to implement modifications to the process and witness a significant improvement in them.
Control
Merely initiating the improvement is not sufficient. Therefore, constant monitoring is conducted to maintain the levels of improvement.
Using the different techniques and tools offered by six Sigma, patient care can be improved to a reasonable level. We will read about many Six Sigma healthcare examples later that will show how six Sigma has improved patient care.
Six Sigma healthcare plays a major role in improving healthcare by reducing the number of errors made throughout multiple processes, such as managing patient appointments. On the other hand, lab turnaround times and patient outcomes improve considerably. The supply chain becomes a straightforward process, and in cases of insurance claims, reimbursement is offered to the concerned person quite quickly.
Six Sigma in Healthcare- Benefits, And Advantages
After the corporate and the business world, six Sigma has offered solutions for revolutionizing the healthcare industry as well. Some acclaimed benefits of lean six Sigma in healthcare are mentioned below.
1. Intercepting Mistakes
In the healthcare industry, minor data errors can considerably impact a patient's diagnosis and treatment procedure, eventually leading to serious health consequences. Lean six sigma measures multiple operational scenarios by taking into account empirical data.
Out of the possible scenarios, the best strategy is selected, which aligns the agents involved in healthcare, such as biological technology, infrastructure, medical practitioners, etc.
This helps minimize the errors- at its highest level, not more than 4 in a million observations! Intercepting mistakes highly affects the overall medical procedure and thus offers an advantage to the healthcare sector.
2. Facilitating Improvement in Patient Care
One of the six sigma methodology's most significant tenets is focusing on the customer's needs. In the case of the healthcare sector, the patients are the customers, and effectively adhering to their needs can enhance patient care.
Applying the lean Six Sigma healthcare methodology changes the perspective of the healthcare workers, who then start considering the patients as their customers, whose satisfaction is their utmost priority.
Some of the basic features that help the healthcare facilities in doing so include- 24x7 emergency facilities, easy appointments, wheelchair access, a clean atmosphere, etc. Six Sigma in healthcare lays stress on improving the pre-existing processes and resources and thus enhancing the quality of the healthcare services.
3. Increased Accessibility to Healthcare Services
By applying the six sigma methods to the processes, the healthcare sector makes services cheaper for the patients and accessible to a larger population. This is done by identifying and reducing waste to bring down expenditure.
Analyzing the operations in healthcare can identify actions and procedures which lead to wastage of money and do not add any value to the overall services.
For example, over-employment of unnecessary staff (such as in non-peak hours), purchasing health inventory in bulk, which is not much used, etc. Getting rid of the unwanted expenditure leads to more efficient healthcare, allowing the patients to avail of cheaper and more accessible healthcare.
4. Reducing the Lengths of Stay
When the Six Sigma methodology assists the healthcare providers in facilitating better patient care, their length of stay automatically decreases. This means the patient experiences significant improvement in health in lesser time, thus eliminating the need to stay for a longer time.
This accomplishes the goal of social responsibility for the healthcare facilities, in addition to fulfilling their business aim.
Unleash your potential with a project management professional certification. Take control of your career and lead with confidence.
Examples Of Six Sigma in Healthcare
We will now discuss some real-life applications and examples of Six Sigma in healthcare-
1. Valley Baptist Health System- Harlingen, Texas
This hospital reduced the time taken in the surgery cycle by using Six Sigma. This made the hospital capable of handling an additional 1,100 cases each year, which in turn increased the potential income of the hospital by $1.3 million annually!
2. Rapides Regional Medical Center- Alexandria, Louisiana
Using the six sigma methodology, this hospital could identify defects in its emergency care unit. As a result, the defects were reduced, which increased the savings for the hospital (up to $950,000 yearly) and reduced the time of waiting for the patients, which meant that more patients could be attended to.
The Women And Infants Hospital- Rhode Island h3
This hospital used Six Sigma healthcare to standardize its procedure for the transfer of embryos, which eventually heightened the implementation rate by 35%!
3. Kent Private Hospital- Turkey
A private hospital in Turkey could treat not more than 32 patients each day. However, they applied the six sigma methodology, which increased their patient treating capacity two-fold- to 64 patients a day! The most interesting thing- this was achieved without hiring any additional staff. It also led to a reduction in the patient waiting time while also boosting the profits.
4. Charleston Area Medical Center- Charleston
This hospital could optimize its surgical supply chain management by applying Six Sigma and save around $1 million! This is one of the most profitable Six Sigma healthcare examples ever!
How To Earn Certification in Lean Six Sigma Healthcare?
Earning a certification in lean six Sigma for healthcare has now become easier than ever! With the 6 Sigma Green Belt certification course offered by Knowledgehut, you can lead or be a part of improvement projects for your healthcare organization. With your experience and expertise, you can transform the organization by offering leadership to your colleagues.
With an undemanding online course, you can acquire the lean Six Sigma healthcare certification course at your home, without the need to commute anywhere to take leaves from your job. With the guidance of our expert trainers, and the chance to deal with real-life issues, you can easily attain the green belt certification in the comfort of your home. Learn more about the Knowledgehut Six Sigma certification courses today!
Bottom Line
Implementing lean Six Sigma healthcare project examples clearly reflects the benefits of six Sigma in healthcare. Start your course with Knowledgehut today, and get valuable insights on the benefits and applications of Six Sigma in the healthcare industry.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How does Six Sigma improve healthcare?
Six Sigma helps in eradicating the chances of errors in the customer database and makes the healthcare workers focus on the satisfaction of their patients.
2. What is the difference between lean and Six Sigma in healthcare?
While the goal of both lean and Six Sigma is the same (optimizing operations)- the former does it by eliminating waste, and the latter does it by reducing variation and scope of error.
3. What are the disadvantages of Six Sigma in healthcare?
The only disadvantage of Six Sigma in healthcare is that it can create a rigid and bureaucratic atmosphere in terms of the operational structure if not applied properly.
4. What is an example of Six Sigma in healthcare?
Six Sigma can be used in healthcare facilities such as hospitals or dispensaries to reduce defects in the pre-existing systems of machinery so that the patient waiting time is reduced, and the hospital can save costs incurred on the machinery.