Lean Healthcare Systems Engineering for Clinical Environments: A Step-by-Step Process for Managing Workflow and Care Improvement Projects

Crossing the Quality Chasm by the Institute of Medicine identified six domains of care quality and noted a huge gap between the current state and the desired state. This book by Dr. Oppenheim on lean healthcare systems engineering (LHSE) is a fresh approach that brings forth concepts that systems engineers have used in huge national defense projects. It applies to ambulatory clinics and hospitals of all types, presenting a generic rigorous but not mathematical step-by-step process of integrated healthcare, systems engineering, and Lean. It also contains the first major product created with the LHSE process, tabularized summaries of representative projects in healthcare delivery applications, called Lean Enablers for Healthcare Projects.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 204 pages
\n Publication date: 25 May 2021
\n Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
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Since the Institute of Medicine published the influential report "Crossing the Quality Chasm" nearly two decades ago, significant strides have been made in understanding and addressing the six domains of care quality: safe, timely, effective, efficient, equitable, and patient-centric. However, the gap between the current state and the desired state remains vast. In the United States, healthcare continues to face significant disparities, inefficiency, and fragmentation, resulting in delays in care that often pose safety risks. Alarmingly, most U.S. citizens are expected to experience a diagnostic error at some point in their lives, receive only a fraction of recommended care, and bear the financial burden of one of the most expensive healthcare systems globally.

Despite the abundance of literature on quality improvement, progress has been slow. Many prominent quality and safety experts have called for the healthcare professions to seek inspiration from other industries, such as nuclear power, airlines, the hotel and entertainment industry, and the automotive industry, particularly Toyota, for safety, customer focus, and efficiency (Lean). This book by Dr. Oppenheim, titled "Lean Healthcare Systems Engineering (LHSE)," presents a novel approach that adapts powerful system engineering tools for addressing smaller-scale healthcare problems that share similar challenges in fragmentation, poor communication, and coordination.

What sets this book apart is its ability to modify these tools to effectively tackle healthcare-specific issues. By applying LHSE, healthcare organizations can streamline workflow and drive care improvement projects across clinical environments. This comprehensive reference provides valuable insights and practical strategies for healthcare professionals seeking to enhance patient outcomes and optimize healthcare delivery.

In conclusion, "Lean Healthcare Systems Engineering (LHSE)" offers a fresh perspective on managing workflow and care improvement projects in the clinical setting. By leveraging system engineering principles, healthcare organizations can overcome fragmentation, improve communication, and coordinate care more effectively, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes and a more efficient healthcare system. This book is a valuable resource for healthcare professionals, researchers, and policymakers alike.

\n Weight: 436g\n
Dimension: 206 x 253 x 17 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780367755324\n \n