Essay on Case Report of Six Sigma at Academic Medical Hospital

While looking to enhance quality levels, a group of Motorola engineers designed a set of quality management tools that utilized statistical data as an approach toward the reduction of defects, and the improved maintenance of quality (Reddy & Hutton, 2013). Focusing on process improvement and variation reduction, Six Sigma uses a measurement-based strategy to improve quality, based on a systematic methodology known by its acronym - DMAIC (iSixSigma, 2012). Once problematic issues are recognized, the DMAIC model strives toward finding a long-term solution through the five phases of defining systems. By measuring key aspects of the current process for data collection, analyzing the collected data and verifying cause and effect relationships, improving current processes from data analysis, and controlling operations to prevent impact in any future process disruptions (Wallace & Webber,

1. Six Sigma is a management philosophy that sets objectives, collects data and analyzes results as a way to remove wasted expenses from its processes and help reduce the number of defective products produced. Six Sigma uses quality measures to strive for near perfection by eliminating errors and variables.

The implications and effects on patients waiting long hours to be seen in the ED are immense. In a recent study done over five years in Ontario hospitals showed the risk of adverse events and even deaths increased with the length of stay in the ED (Science Daily, 2011). When EDs become overcrowded the quality of care changes and declines; which is extremely dangerous. Authors of the study calculated that if ED length of stay was cut by only an hour that 150 fewer Ontarians would die each year (Science Daily, 2011). Wait times can also negatively affect patients financially, untreated medical conditions can lead to reduced productivity and inability to work leading to increased financial strains (Fraser Institute, 2014). As well as delayed access to care can result in more complex interventions needed. Therefore an initiative is needed to provide patients with timely, efficient care when accessing

In 2000, the Department of Health(DH), set a range of emergency care access targets in its NHS plan, and in 2001 the government published Reforming emergency care   (DH, 2001) which established waiting time targets for all UK emergency care patient contacts;. The new standard was introduced into the NHS in England in 2002; stating that 98% of patients presenting to ED’s would be seen, treated, admitted or discharged within four hours of arrival by 2004, no one was to wait more than four hours in an ED (from arrival to admission to a bed, transfer elsewhere or discharge). Whilst the author agrees that it has improved the overall for the patient’s experience within the ED. It must be borne in mind that before the decision ‘to come into’ hospital (TCI), that the patient receives the correct clinical decisions prior to TCI.

A point prevalence study conducted by … fount that the mean reported waiting time was 3.7 hours per patient. The times for the longest boarded patient ranged from 15 minutes to 33 hours, with a mean maximum waiting time of 8.3 hours. The prolonged ED waiting time resulted from ED overcrowding has negative adverse outcomes upon different stakeholders, including not only patients, but also staff members and hospitals.

It seems that emergency room wait times are ridiculous and there is no need for it. My mom has been in and out of the hospital since last April and the most annoying thing in the world is having to wait 3 hours to see a doctor. This paper is going to focus on ways to improve emergency room wait times. With all the advancements in technology you would think that every hospital has an app to download but that’s not the case.

The presence of Emergency Department (ED) crowding, and long boarding times, hinders its ability to provide the quality and efficient care (Weiss, Rogers, Maas, Ernst, & Nick, 2014). According to Mullins and Pines (2014), an average patient in the United States spends more than 4 hours in the ED before being admitted to an inpatient unit. ED crowding and increased boarding time have negatively impacted bed availability, increased staff workload, decreased productivity, and lessened patient satisfaction. Many healthcare organizations, including the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), have established an electronic bed board system (BMS) and InterQual Level of Care Criteria (IQLCC), which aim to enhance patient flow within organizations (United States, 2013).

Six Sigma focuses on defect prevention; improving quality, cost savings, and reducing waste by helping

Access to healthcare begins with a patient making an appointment. Disorganized scheduling leads to delays in providing care for patients and frustration among care teams. With patient experience becoming linked to provider payment, an emphasis has returned to reducing patients wait times and increasing patients ease of access to care [1,2]. Recent studies have shown that average wait times at the Veterans Health Administration’s primary care facilities was 42 days [1]. Limited private sector studies have reported similar results with a Massachusetts private sector study revealing average wait times of 39 and 50 days for primary care and internal medicine practices respectively [1].

The implications and effects on patients waiting long hours to be seen in the ED are immense. In a recent study done over five years in Ontario hospitals showed the risk of adverse events and even deaths increased with the length of stay. When ED’s become overcrowded the quality of care changes and declines; which is extremely dangerous. Authors of the study calculated that if ED length of stay was cut by only an hour that 150 fewer Ontarians would die each year. Wait times can also negatively affect patients financially. While untreated medical conditions can lead to reduced productivity and ability to work. As well as delayed access to care can result in more complex interventions needed. Therefore an initiative is needed to provide patients with timely, efficient care when accessing the ED. This would decrease mortality rates as well as patient satisfaction.

Wait times before surgical procedures improved 2.4 points (ie, a score based on percentage) from 85.7 to 88.1. Communication of information regarding delays that did occur improved 2.3 points from 85.9 to 88.2. Patient perception of how well staff members worked together improved 1.4 points from 95.8 to 97.2 with statistically significant gains at a .05 confidence level. The overall facility rating improved 1.2 points from 93.2 to 94.4, and ambulatory

Hospitals are experiencing patient congested emergency departments. At Baptist Memorial Hospital, the increase in patient volume and limited capacity contributes to long length of stays and patients leaving without being seen. As a result of overcrowded emergency rooms, patient length of stay becomes more important. Throughput times in the emergency department (ED) play a substantial role in patient and staff satisfaction. Length of stay in the ED is directly related to patient volume, patient acuity, lab turnaround times, and time to treatment, which is all connected to patient satisfaction. Long wait time

Jay Greenstein (2012) published an article in a Leadership journal called "Process: Lean Six Sigma Principles." He took a problem and followed the DMAIC methodology step by step explaining what needs done in each step. According to Greenstein (2012) "The idea behind Six Sigma is that in any given business process, there are three to five key steps in that process that must be controlled to get the desired result" (p. 31). The author uses an analogy for this and discusses going out to eat at a favorite restaurant and ordering a favorite dish; the customer expects the same great meal every time, not a variation of the dish.

The concept of Six Sigma was developed in the early 1980’s at Motorola Corporation (Harry and Schroeder, 2000). Six Sigma can be defined as a statistical measure of the performance of a process or product (Kumi et. al., 2006). It is used as a quality control mechanism, which seeks to reduce defects or variations in a process to 3.4 per million opportunities thereby optimizing output and increasing customer satisfaction (Sambhe, 2012). Sigma is representing the standard deviation, a unit of measurement that designates the distribution or spread about the mean of a process (Six Sigma Academy, 2002). In addition, the Six Sigma uniquely driven by close understanding of customer needs, disciplined use of fact, data, and statistical analysis, and diligent attention to managing improving, and reinventing business processes (Pande, P., et. al. 2000). The Six Sigma methodology uses statistical tools to identify the factors that matter most for improving the quality of processes and generating bottom-line results. The Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure,

Definition of Six SigmaSix Sigma is not a mere methodology or a quality tool. It is a philosophy i.e. a systematic way of thinking to solve quality problems. Six sigma involves