11Įach category of waste is identifiable in the field of audiology and processes to minimize the effects are easily modifiable for a productive clinic (see Table 1). 10 Within Lean, the 5S methodology is a system to mitigate waste and involves: sorting, setting, shining, standardizing, and sustaining. Waste includes transportation, motion, inventory, waiting, overproduction, overprocessing, defects, and skills. 5 Lean defines eight areas of waste and systems to reduce waste. The purpose of Lean is to reduce waste within a process by eliminating steps that do not add value for the customer or patient, reduce variability, and standardize procedures. 6–8 Specifically, health care facilities that have employed LSS concepts have enjoyed benefits such as decreased expenditures, hospital stay lengths 6, hospital-acquired infections 7, patient no-show rates 8, and patient wait time as well as improvement in provider relative value units (RVUs). The Lean and Six Sigma CQI systems originated in the automobile manufacturing industry 5 but a large body of evidence supports the effectiveness of LSS in health care. Lean and Six Sigma are two popular CQI methodologies that are often used in conjunction with one another, collectively termed LSS. Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is a cost-effective CQI system with concepts that may easily be incorporated into practices to reduce waste.
4 CQI methods can be applied to audiology practices given the multitude of supplies and equipment necessary to successfully manage clinic operations. The goals of CQI within the health care sector include improving patient care and safety, ensuring regulatory compliance, enhancing clinic processes and operations, reducing waste and excessive spending, and maximizing employee experience and satisfaction.
Many CQI systems originated in industrial settings 3 but have since been adapted for use in other industries including health care. One way to reduce waste and ensure effective processes is to implement continuous quality improvement (CQI) methods, which encompass multiple systematic techniques for improving clinic processes. The 5S Methodology of Creating a Lean Workspace.
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