Sustainability of improvements over the long term after the implementation of Lean Healthcare methodology in the Urology Department of a public hospital as a tool for improving efficiency

Alberto Budía Alba, Francisco Boronat Tormo, M. Pilar Bahílo Mateu, Salvador Arlandis, Jose Luis Pontones and David Vivas-Consuelo
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Alberto Budía Alba: La Fe University and Polytechnic Hospital
Francisco Boronat Tormo: La Fe University and Polytechnic Hospital
M. Pilar Bahílo Mateu: La Fe University and Polytechnic Hospital
Salvador Arlandis: La Fe University and Polytechnic Hospital
Jose Luis Pontones: La Fe University and Polytechnic Hospital
David Vivas-Consuelo: La Fe University and Polytechnic Hospital

Management in Healthcare: A Peer-Reviewed Journal, 2019, vol. 4, issue 2, 184-191

Abstract: To demonstrate the sustainability of improvements over the long term after the implementation of Lean Healthcare methodology in the urology department, a total of 19,567 clinical processes were analysed from 2011 to 2017. In 2011, the pre-surgical hospital stay was 1.07 days, and in 2018, it was 0.33 days. The average gross hospital stay was 4.25 days, and it fell progressively to 2.78 days in 2015, before increasing to 2.92 days in 2018. The risk-adjusted mean hospital stay index was 0.61 (49 per cent improvement over the standard), with a saving of 3,320 hospital stays in 2018. The risk-adjusted complications index was 0.44 (66 per cent improvement over the standard), with a saving of 37 complications in 2017 (0.65 in 2013). The risk-adjusted mortality index was 0.05 (95 per cent improvement over the standard), with a saving of 20 deaths in 2017 (0.3 in 2013). The risk-adjusted readmissions index (RARI) was 1.49 (49 per cent worse than the standard), with 26 more readmissions than expected (1.58 in 2013). Lean Healthcare methodology can be effectively applied and maintained over the long term in a department of a public tertiary hospital, but it demands a change in the mindset of the workers and an economic investment.

Keywords: Lean Healthcare; urology; sustainability; continuous improvement; efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I1 I10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aza:mih000:y:2019:v:4:i:2:p:184-191

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