Lean Hospitals – Real Results from Lean in Healthcare
“There are many examples of the positive results of Lean healthcare in hospitals around the world.”
From Chapter 1 of the revised 3rd edition, released in June 2016…
Proven Impact of Lean in Healthcare Organizations
Lean methods have led to tangible, measurable improvements in hospitals around the world. Below are examples from real health systems demonstrating results across safety, quality, flow, satisfaction, and financial performance.
Excerpt from Lean Hospitals, 3rd Revised Edition
…there are now many examples of the positive impact Lean is having in hospitals throughout the world. As a sample, Lean methods have resulted in improvements to:
Safety and Quality
Reduced central-line-associated bloodstream infections by 76%, reducing patient deaths from such infections by 95% and saving $1 million—Allegheny Hospital, Pennsylvania[i]
Reduced hospital acquired infections, saving 57 lives, reducing ICU length of stay and reducing costs by over $5 million over two years —University of Pennsylvania Medical Center[ii]
Reduced readmission rates for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients by 48%—UPMC St. Margaret Hospital, Pennsylvania[iii]
Reduced falls by 22%, reducing costs by more than $500,000 – Hanover Regional Medical Center, North Carolina[iv]
Reduced pressure ulcers by 56% in three pilot areas over two years, with a 30% decrease system-wide – BJC Healthcare, Missouri[v]
Avoidance of 87 readmissions for congestive heart failure in 12 months across four hospitals, saving $830,000 – Four hospitals in California[vi]
Reduced sepsis mortality from 24% to 9%, reducing the average cost per case from $15,772 to $12,771 – Presence Health, Illinois[vii]
Waiting Times and Length of Stay
Reduced patient waiting time for non-emergent orthopedic surgery from 14 weeks to 31 hours (from first call to surgery); improved inpatient satisfaction scores from 68% “very satisfied” to 90%—ThedaCare, Wisconsin[viii]
Reduced emergency patient length of stay by 29% and avoided $1.25 million in new emergency department (ED) construction—Avera McKennan, South Dakota[ix]
Reduced waiting times for screening colonoscopies from 6 weeks to less than 24 hours while reducing cost per patient by 9.5% — Palo Alto Medical Foundation, California[x]
Increased the percentage of atrial fibrillation patients treated within 40 days from 11% to 94% HealthEast, Minnesota[xi]
Flow
Reduced turnaround time for clinical laboratory results by 60% in 2004 without adding head count or new instrumentation; further reduced times by another 33% from 2008 to 2010—Alegent Health, Nebraska[xii], [xiii]
Reduced instrument decontamination and sterilization cycle time by 54% while improving productivity by 16%—Kingston General Hospital, Ontario[xiv]
Reduced late surgery starts from 50% to 30%, reduced rescheduled procedures from 20% to 4.4%, while increasing cases per month from 329 to 351 – New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation[xv]
Reducing O.R. turnover time from 60 minutes to 30 minutes, increasing utilization rates from 25% to 65% and achieving 100% on time starts in a pilot area – Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China[xvi]
Satisfaction
Improved patient / family satisfaction rates in the NICU from 45th percentile to 99th percentile – Franciscan St. Francis, Indianapolis[xvii]
Improved physician satisfaction from 63rd percentile to 87th, being highest rated in overall care among 170 California medical groups for two consecutive years – Sutter Gould Medical Foundation, California[xviii], [xix]
Improved emergency department patient satisfaction from 5th percentile to 98th percentile in just four months (through door-to-doc times falling from 67 to 18 minutes) – Sumner Regional Medical Center, Tennessee.[xx]
Financial
Bottom-line benefit of almost $200 million over seven years, while achieving “the lowest observed-to-expected mortality among the academic health center members of the University Health system Consortium in 2011” and avoiding layoffs—Denver Health, Colorado[xxi]
Avoidance of $180 million in capital spending through Lean improvements—Seattle Children’s Hospital, Washington[xxii]
Improved operating margin by 44%, from 1.70% in fiscal year 2011 to 3.06% in fiscal year 2014 —HealthEast, Minnesota[xxiii]
[i]McCarthy, Douglas, and David Blumenthal, M.D., “Committed to Safety: Ten Case Studies on Reducing Harm to Patients,” The Commonwealth Fund, http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2006/apr/committed-to-safety–ten-case-studies-on-reducing-harm-to-patients (accessed March 26 ,2015).
[ii] Martin LA, Neumann CW, Mountford J, Bisognano M, Nolan TW.Increasing Efficiency and Enhancing Value in Health Care: Ways to Achieve Savings in Operating Costs per Year. IHI Innovation Series white paper. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Institute for Healthcare Improvement; 2009.
[iii] California Health Advocates, “Creative Interventions Reduce Hospital Readmissions for Medicare Beneficiaries,” October 7, 2010, http://www.cahealthadvocates.org/news/basics/2010/creative.html (accessed March 26, 2015).
[iv] Barto, Jack, “CEO Blog: Avoiding patient falls: Where patient safety meets cost reduction,”
http://www.nhrmc.org/body.cfm?id=2293&action=detail&ref=1085#sthash.JYEqkbCA.dpbs (accessed September 12, 2015).
[v] Lean Tools Used to Reduce Pressure Ulcers, http://www.hret-hen.org/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=category&download=1305:barnes-jewish-christian-hospital-saint-louis-mo&id=283:pressure-ulcers-case-studies
[vi] Wu, Shinyi, Pai Liu, and David Belson, “Multiple-Hospital Lean Initiative to Improve Congestive Heart Failure Care: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation,” Journal of the Society for Healthcare Improvement Professionals,
http://www.jship.org/articles/vol-3-articles-october-2013/multiple-hospital-lean-initiative-to-improve-congestive-heart-failure-care-a-mixed-methods-evaluation-2/ (accessed September 12, 2015).
[vii] Rice, Sabriya,”Learning to be Lean,” http://www.modernhealthcare.com/section/learning-to-be-lean (accessed October 22, 2015).
[viii] Toussaint, John, and Roger Gerard, On the Mend: Revolutionizing Healthcare to Save Lives and Transform the Industry (Cambridge, MA: Lean Enterprise Institute, 2010), 29.
[ix] ValuMetrix Services, “Avera McKennan,” Case Study, http://www.valumetrixservices.com/sites/default/files/client_results_pdf/CS_Avera%20McKennan_ED_OC4047.pdf (accessed March 26, 2015).
[x] Maser, Ben and Osman Akhtar, “PAMF’s Ambulatory Surgery Center: A Value Stream Approach to Improvement,” Presentation at 2015 Lean Healthcare Transformation Summit, June 2015.
[xi] http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/15/06/p5606947/healthcare-value-network-members-share-new-quarterly-results#ixzz3dW7OMAlD
[xii] ValuMetrix Services, “Clinical Laboratory Improves Turnaround Time by 60%,” Case Study, http://www.valumetrixservices.com/sites/default/files/client_results_pdf/CS_Alegent_Lab_OC4029.pdf (accessed March 26, 2015).
[xiii] Ford, Anne, “Thanks to Weak Economy and More, Efficiency Is King,” CAP Today, April 2010, http://lnbg.us/20T (accessed March 26, 2015).
[xiv] Lefteroff, Lewis, and Mark Graban, “Lean and Process Excellence at Kingston General,” SME Lean Manufacturing 2008, 53.
[xv] Rice.
[xvi] Guo, Jinshai, Shijun Ma, and Xun Zhang, “Lean management to transform a Chinese hospital,” http://www.planet-lean.com/lean-management-to-transform-a-chinese-hospital (accessed October 27, 2015).
[xvii] Graban, Mark, “Gemba in the NICU: More Notes from our “Kaizen Live” Experience at Franciscan,”
http://www.leanblog.org/2015/05/gemba-nicu-notes-kaizen-live-experience-franciscan/ (accessed September 12, 2015).
[xviii] Graban, Mark, “Podcast #230 – Paul DeChant, MD, MBA on Reducing Burnout Through Lean,” http://www.leanblog.org/230 (accessed September 20, 2015).
[xix] Consumer Reports Health, “How Good Is Your Doctor?,” Special Report for California Residents, February, 2015.
[xx] No author, “Slash door-to-doc time, boost patient satisfaction with staff-driven improvement effort,” ED Manag. 2011 Jun;23(6):70-1.
[xxi] Gabow, Patricia, The Lean Prescription: Powerful Medicine for an Ailing Health System (New York: Productivity Press, 2014), xix.
[xxii] Weed, Julie, “Factory Efficiency Comes to the Hospital,” New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/business/11seattle.html, July 10, 2010 (accessed March 26, 2015).
[xxiii] http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/15/06/p5606947/healthcare-value-network-members-share-new-quarterly-results#ixzz3dW7OMAlD
? What These Results Mean for You
The data speaks for itself: Lean methods drive real, measurable improvements in healthcare. Whether it’s reducing patient harm, shortening wait times, or avoiding unnecessary costs, organizations that commit to Lean are building safer, more efficient, and more satisfying systems for patients and staff alike.
These aren’t one-off wins — they’re the result of a sustained focus on process improvement, leadership engagement, and a culture of continuous learning.
If you’re ready to achieve similar results in your organization:
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Lean Hospitals is more than a book — it’s a roadmap for lasting change in healthcare.
