Mistake Proofing for Lean Healthcare

7

Chapter 2

The Production

Processes

andOperations

ofHealthcare

2.1 THE INDUSTRIAL ORIGINS

OF LEAN HEALTHCARE

The purpose of the Lean Tools for Healthcare Series is

to introduce readers to a set of methods that have been

proven to increase patient safety and dramatically reduce

the cost of providing healthcare services. The term lean

was coined to express the notion that, like an athlete, an

organization should be without organizational “fat” or

what lean specialists refer to as non-value-adding waste,

where value refers to what a patient would be willing

to pay for. Figure2.1 lists seven distinct types of waste

found in healthcare.

Lean too