Process Improvement Advice & Best Practices
Community Hospital Reduces ED Length of Stay Using TRIZ Innovation Methods
Process improvement and innovation leaders, such as Intel, Honeywell, 3M and many other Fortune 500 businesses, have recently been incorporating TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) innovation methods into their quality programs to produce breakthrough process improvements. NOVACES applied these methods in a rapid improvement workshop to help one community hospital reduce patient length of stay in the Emergency Department (ED) by focusing on STAT lab orders.
It was identified that a lack of coordinated, effective communication existed between the hospital’s emergency and ancillary department, and it was increasing ED patient length of stay. Rather than investing heavily in complex software and electronics systems, these challenges can be solved more effectively by leveraging the creativity of the staff, simplifying the processes .
Tools from lean healthcare and TRIZ innovation were used to stretch the minds of participants and guide them in reframing the coordination of care for their patients. A complete case study on how Lean Six Sigma for healthcare and TRIZ Innovation was used to reduce ED length of stay is available at http://www.novaces.com/triz-process-improvement
