LEAN is a process improvement model that was developed from the Toyota production system. Although its origins are rooted in manufacturing, the underlying principles of LEAN can be applied very successfully to healthcare.
There are two main principles of LEAN. The first, and perhaps the most important, is the voice of the customer. No action should be taken or no improvements as started, unless they are initiated by the voice of the customer. The customer will tell us what we need to do to improve so that their expectations of our service can be met. If we listen to the voice of the customer they will tell us what to do and prioritize the order in which we do it. This has the great advantage of focusing our improvement efforts on the things that matter most first. This will result in enhanced customer and patient experience in any healthcare organization. This will have a positive impact on perhaps the most important health care patient satisfaction survey. Today, the publicly reported HCAHPS Scores.
The second underlying principle of LEAN is respect. Everything we do must be done, respecting others. This is especially important when we engage in process improvement. Every process of improvement that we engage in must be done respecting the individuals that will be affected by the change. Always remember it is inefficient, ineffective or wasteful process that needs to be changed. If we don’t respect the individuals involved in that process, they will be very resistant to the change. Respecting these individuals would engage them in the change process so that they work together to improve the process.
In order to successfully convert an organization to a LEAN organization is critical that every employee in the organization understands the basic underlying principles of lean, the positive improvements that LEAN will make to employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction and to the organization and trained in the process so that they can become involved as participants in the change process.