Improving Efficiency and Mapping Surgical Procedures Using Lean Methods

The delivery of high-value and low-cost health care is an increasingly urgent directive of public health institutions. As national health expenditure becomes an increasingly higher proportion of the gross domestic product, governments and health care systems are trying to find ways to reduce the cost of health care without reducing the overall health of the population. Recently, Lean methodologies have been borrowed and adapted from automobile assembly lines to health care delivery. These methods have been used in places ranging from the clinic, to ambulatory surgery centers, to high-volume hospital operating rooms to improve the quality and efficiency of health care delivery while reducing costs.