Green Hospital Together with a Lean Healthcare System

Abstract

Green hospitals and Lean Healthcare Systems are both dealing with increasing efficiency and effectiveness by decreasing waste/non-value added activities and cost in healthcare institutions. When both of the issues are used and applied, it can be seen that green hospitals will encourage more effective and efficient usage of energy, water and material currently used, ensure the prevention of any kind of waste, perform environmentally sensible and eco-friendly building design and be environmentally friendly in the process of service provision. In addition, lean heathcare will decrease waste, costs, non-value added activities, increase patient, doctor, nurse, and staff satisfaction, decrease waiting times, increase performance and finally increase revenues. The aim of this study is to give information about the concept of the green hospital with a lean healthcare system when applied jointly. It demonstrates the applicability of the concept of green hospitals in the healthcare sector together with lean management. The study examines the contribution of these two concepts to healthcare institutions as well as to the environment. For this purpose, in this study, the concept of green, green healthcare, lean management, and lean healthcare is defined and the joint application of green and lean healthcare is presented as a suggestion. The implementation of environmentally friendly green strategies, together with lean strategies to healthcare within the framework of social responsibility and in this respect extended employees, patient and community awareness can be suggested to both public, university and private hospital managers for developing and improving the sustainable lean healthcare systems.