Lean Process Improvement in the Emergency Department

Abstract

Lean engineering is based on a process improvement strategy originally developed at Toyota and has been used in many different industries to maximize efficiency by minimizing waste. Lean improvement projects are frequently instituted in emergency departments in an effort to improve processes and thereby improve patient care. Such projects have been undertaken with success in many emergency departments in order to improve metrics such as door-to-provider time, left without being seen rate, and patient length of stay. By reducing waste in the system, Lean processes aim to maximize efficiency and minimize delay and redundancy to the extent possible.

Keywords: Emergency department operations; Lean; Patient flow; Process improvement; Six sigma.