Implementation of lean management/Six Sigma in patients’ perioperative care

Abstract

Aim: During healthcare management in hospitals, many unforeseen events can affect patient's surgical safety and experience, causing discomfort both him and his family, simultaneously wasting surgery resources and reducing its efficiency.Healthcare professionals in every hospital should consider perioperative care of patient as an important issue and its systematic improvement should be required. The aim of this review was to highlight the Lean Management and Six Sigma methods in patients’ perioperative care. Material-Method: A systematic review was conducted in the electronic databases Medline / Pubmed,Scopus, Embase and Cochrane Library from 2015 to 2020. The keywords were lean management, six sigma, lean / six sigma surgery, lean / six sigma perioperative care. The inclusion criteria were studies directly related to the subject in English, published in peer-reviewed journals. Results: The search strategy was applied to 896 studies, 889 of which were excluded and 7 of which met the inclusion criteria.Lean and Six Sigma methodologies increased the efficiency of the operating room staff, as well as the financial performance of the entire operating unit. Process mapping, leadership, and staff satisfaction are keys to enhancepatient’s safety. Conclusions: The implementation of Lean / Six Sigma in health services has great potential. It is proposed the institutional adoption of this methodology, with additional research of its practical, educational and financial benefits after wide implementation.