Lean Sigma--Rebuilding Capability in Healthcare

1. Existing Change Models: Why the Traditional Healthcare Models Are Struggling

Traditional Change Models

As described in the Preface, the general consensus is that performance (and performance improvement for that matter) in healthcare is not where it needs to be. Numerous articles and publications each year identify the problems or argue the root cause. The intent here is not to delve too deeply into the argument, but to highlight one key problem (in this case with the performance improvement methods utilized) and then, in the chapters to come, to demonstrate a solid solution to that problem. Consider the following symptoms:

• There is a sense of resource overloading—it is difficult to get team time to even start a project.

• Most improvement ...