Article

Performance improvement is a mainstay of operations management and maintenance of
certification. In this study at a University Hospital inpatient rehabilitation
unit, Lean management techniques were used to manage throughput of patients into
and out of the inpatient rehabilitation unit. At the start of this process, the
average admission time to the rehabilitation unit was 5:00 p.m., with a median
time of 3:30 p.m., and no patients received therapy on the day of admission.
Within 8 mos, the mean admission time was 1:22 p.m., 50% of the patients were on
the rehabilitation unit by 1:00 p.m., and more than 70% of all patients received
therapy on the day of admission. Negative variance from this performance was
evaluated, the identification of inefficient discharges holding up admissions as
a problem was identified, and a Lean workshop was initiated. Once this problem
was tackled, the prime objective of 70% of patients receiving therapy on the date
of admission was consistently met. Lean management tools are effective in
improving throughput on an inpatient rehabilitation unit.

Langue : ANGLAIS