Lean in the cardiac intensive care unit

Abstract

Lean management principles have been used extensively in manufacturing for decades and are increasingly being utilized in healthcare settings over the last 10 years. Lean principles, developed as part of the Toyota Management System, their simultaneous focus on waste reduction and customer satisfaction are vital for healthcare to reach its potential. Lean begins with mapping process flow and then applying lean tools and techniques to optimize the current state, including waste removal, inventory optimization through kanban (signal) systems and standard work. The translation of this manufacturing philosophy to healthcare involves the use of huddles in order to optimize situational awareness and develop clinical standard pathways to ensure that patients with similar pathophysiological abnormalities are treated in a similar fashion.