Implementation of Lean Management in a Multi-Specialist Hospital in Poland and the Analysis of Waste

Agnieszka Zdęba-Mozoła, Anna Rybarczyk-Szwajkowska, Tomasz Czapla, Michał Marczak and Remigiusz Kozłowski
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Agnieszka Zdęba-Mozoła: Department of Management and Logistics in Healthcare, Medical University of Lodz, 6 Lindleya Street, 90-131 Lodz, Poland
Anna Rybarczyk-Szwajkowska: Department of Management and Logistics in Healthcare, Medical University of Lodz, 6 Lindleya Street, 90-131 Lodz, Poland
Tomasz Czapla: Department of Management, Faculty of Management, University of Lodz, 90-237 Lodz, Poland
Michał Marczak: Department of Management and Logistics in Healthcare, Medical University of Lodz, 6 Lindleya Street, 90-131 Lodz, Poland
Remigiusz Kozłowski: Centre for Security Technologies in Logistics, Faculty of Management, University of Lodz, 90-237 Lodz, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 2, 1-23

Abstract: At the beginning of the 21st century, Lean Management (LM) tools were introduced into the healthcare sector around the world. In Poland, there are still few LM implementations, and they are not of a comprehensive nature. The aim of this article is to present the application of the LM concept in a hospital in Poland as a tool for the identification and analysis of waste and its impact on the process of organizing the provision of medical services on the example of improvements in the process of patient admission. In the period from 1 July 2019 to 31 December 2019, a project of LM implementation was carried out at the Provincial Specialist Hospital in Wroclaw. The project was based on the method of value-stream mapping and 5Why. Standardized interviews (before and after the project) were conducted with people from the hospital management and middle-level managers. The implementation of LM tools resulted in the identification of a number of wastes, which have been divided into groups. The most important waste was paper medical documentation. Its change to an electronic form allowed for a better use of human capital resources; savings included 2.3 nursing positions and 1.09 medical staff positions.

Keywords: lean management; lean healthcare; 5Why; value-stream mapping; waste (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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