Six Sigma Can Deliver Improvements in Healthcare
Six Sigma as a powerful business strategy has been used for almost twenty years to reduce operating costs in Industry. In recent years the use of Six Sigma has been growing in the healthcare industry, delivering real results; particularly in the USA.
The Six Sigma approach allows for a more careful analysis of process performance and more effective decision-making aimed at achieving optimal performance rather than accepting what is simply ‘good enough’.
Six Sigma provides;
- A scientific approach to process performance improvement,
- A widely accepted approach to problem solving,
- A focus on the customer/patient,
- A statistical approach to understanding process variation and capability,
- A World-Class performance target of 3.4 Errors Per Million Opportunities (DPMO).
Sigma (σ) is a Greek letter used to describe process variability, and a number of times Sigma indicates the amount of errors that are likely to occur in a given process. For example, a 3 sigma process has an error rate of approximately 67,000 per million (6.7%), whereas a Six Sigma process has less than 4 errors per million opportunities (0.0004%).
Read how 6 Sigma
can help the NHS.
Published in the National
Health Executive,
February 2008
Six Sigma and Lean Transformation Programmes
Lean and Six Sigma are complimentary. Lean is the philosophy that helps you to understand value-add and how to eliminate waste and maximise process flow. Six Sigma can help eliminate process variation, achieve perfection and assist in sustaining Operational Lean Interventions.
Six Sigma can bring real benefits to your Trust
Six Sigma can;
- Deliver real cost savings through improved efficiencies,
- Create a focus on the patient,
- Simplify processes and workflow steps,
- Help reduce wasteful activities,
- Improve quality and efficiency,
- Improve process consistency, and
- Align processes with the Trust's Vision and Mission
Lean Thinking in Healthcare - Doing More with Less
