Every business, regardless of size or industry, could improve on some level on its effectiveness as well as its efficiency. For the healthcare industry, this is imperative!
Healthcare is important to all of us. We like to believe that not only are we being cured of our ailment, but that our healthcare provider really does care about us. If it is our loved one that is being affected, we’d like to believe that the healthcare provider did everything within their power to save or improve their quality of life.
On the other hand, the healthcare provider has to deal with operating costs, government control of health insurance reimbursements, rising malpractice lawsuits, among other financial issues. It is safe to assume that rising healthcare costs isn’t all the fault of the economy; some of those costs could be attributed to the providers not being as efficient and effective as they could be.
Six Sigma to the Rescue
Six Sigma is a data driven process, which means the decision maker is…data. So gut instinct, intuition, even past history doesn’t play any part in changes that need to be made in the present.
This data includes Six Sigma’s own tactics that will prioritize and isolate the issue at hand; then given a time frame (usually 4-6 months) to improve the issue by 50%. Please understand that Six Sigma’s ultimate goal is to get the problem corrected to as near perfection as possible.
The healthcare industry is the ultimate service industry. So as an example, you’d have to define the patient’s needs, requirements and the process that is being targeted for improvement. Each improvement has its own targeted requirement. Patient satisfaction is top priority in the healthcare industry, and it looks like Six Sigma is making its mark.
6Sigma.com has many clients across the healthcare field, including Blue Cross Blue Shield, California Department of Mental Health, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Aetna, among others.
If you would like more information or are interested in one of our courses please visit the 6Sigma.com training class schedule.
Learn more information about 6Sigma.com’s Lean Six Sigma training coursework, available as classroom, onsite, or online options.
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