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Health Science

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Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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Uploaded by combatvet1975

Written Assignment 3 HC Quality/Outcomes (HCM-4040-OL009) 11/5/2023 Six Sigma is a systematic, data-driven improvement approach whose goal is the near-elimination of defects from every product, process, and transaction.

Six Sigma originated in manufacturing by Motorola and was later refined by General Electric, which as most people know, has its own healthcare division. The goal of Six Sigma is to operate at a failure rate of less than 3.4 per 1 million opportunities. At this rate, it equates to a success rate of 99.99966% without any defects. Although the Six Sigma can operate in a variety of structured steps, it is most commonly run under the five steps of DMAIC. D efine the problem. M easure key aspects of the process. A nalyze the data. I mprove the system. C ontrol and sustain the improvement. Healthcare throughout the world is known to have wait time issues. Wait times are one of the leading complaints among patients. Emergency departments are one of the worst when it comes to waiting times. “The Princess Rahma Pediatric Hospital (PRPH) in Irbid is a pediatric referral hospital for Jordan’s four northern governorates, serving nearly 25% of the country's population.” ( Mistarihi, M. Z., AL-Tahat, M., & AL-Nimer, S., 2023). A study was performed using the Six-Sigma DMAIC method to help reduce wait times, overcrowding, and improve efficiency in the emergency department at PRPH. During the study it was determined the average wait time for patients was around 75 minutes, which is high for an emergency department. Every step in the emergency department was analyzed to help determine the cause of the extended wait times. It had been determined that physician assessment, lab resources, and a reduction in the registration process were necessary. After analyzing the data, the hospital

upgraded the resources in their emergency department and the results were impressive. The average wait time decreased from 75 minutes to just over 20 minutes. That is nearly a 75% reduction in waiting time. Wait times for lab and physician are normally high in healthcare, however, the lab wait time at PRPH decreased from almost 51 minutes to just over 9 minutes. While physician assessment wait times were cut from almost 26 minutes to less than a minute. Utilizing the Six Sigma methodology also helped the hospital increase their average efficiency from 38% to almost 70%. Ultimately, the research found that the long wait times were caused by the physician assessment process. PRPH determined that the assessment process needs to be adjusted daily, based on the number of patients entering the emergency department. Making these adjustments will help the hospital emergency department maintain a reduction in patient waiting times, while operating at a higher efficiency rating. We live in the 21 st century where technology has improved many facets of our lives. However, waiting times in our healthcare systems, not only in the United States, but worldwide, are unacceptable. With the technology available today, patients should not be waiting over an hour in an emergency department to be seen by a doctor. These extended waiting times can lead to an increase in mortality rates. Emergency departments perform triage steps to help determine which patients need to be seen first. This is a good process to make sure patients that need to be seen immediately are. However, this process does not help reduce the waiting times for patients, in fact, waiting times can increase if it is determined by the triage process that the patient’s illness is not an emergency. When new patients enter the emergency department and are determined to be more urgent than those patients who have flu-like symptoms. Those flu-like symptoms could be more serious, especially since the arrival of COVID. The Six Sigma methodology is a great tool that can and should be utilized by healthcare systems throughout the

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