Author： Kovach Jami Torre Luis De la Walker David
Publisher： Inderscience Publishers
ISSN： 1479-2494
Source： International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage, Vol.4, Iss.3, 2008-12, pp. : 254-269
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Abstract
In production environments, improvement efforts focus on reducing defects and/or improving efficiency. Yet, in service industries, customer satisfaction is often the primary concern; therefore, improvement efforts generally focus on reducing errors or mistakes. One specific type of service environment is a healthcare facility. Because the health and safety of human beings is the primary consideration in the healthcare industry, error reduction is paramount in this field. Healthcare facilities are, however, businesses, so in addition to concerns relative to the quality of patient care and patient safety, they are also interested in reducing operating expenses and improving the efficiency of their operations. In this work, we use a focus group composed of experts within the healthcare field to explore the current issues in healthcare and investigate how the represented healthcare facilities use continuous improvement initiatives such as Lean principles and the Six Sigma methodology to address these issues.
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