News: LSS Advances Pediatric Patient Discharges

Lean Six Sigma has an immeasurable number of benefits for businesses who want to operate more efficiently. But it also has tremendous benefits for the people those businesses serve, as well. According to a recent report from HCPLive, LSS advances pediatric patient discharges, allowing young patients to leave the hospital with less paperwork wait.

Researchers from Penn State University stated in a December publication in the Journal of Hospital Medicine that Lean Six Sigma could have an immediate impact on patient discharges without any negative effect on the length of stay or readmission rates. The researchers found that the use of LSS shortened the median time for discharge order entry to 10:45 compared to 14:05. The median time for discharge was also reduced: from 14:15 compared to 15:48, the report noted.

According to the abstract from the study, delays in discharges contribute to overcrowding in emergency rooms. The research was conducted in an academic medical center and the patients studied were pediatric patients compared to the remainder of the children’s hospital services. Some of the changes made included staff reallocation, multidisciplinary predischarge planning, the creation of a discharge checklist, and the creation of a standard workflow. The intervention generated consistent improvements during the busiest months of the year, the abstract stated.

Lean Six Sigma is all about consistent improvements that create money and time saving efficiencies. In the hospital setting, these efficiencies allow for increased comfort for patients and less stress on staff. If you’re interested in how Lean Six Sigma training can help you to implement improvements in your business — regardless of industry — we can help.