A high standard of care is maintained at Skåne University Hospital, but at the same time we know that further improvement is always possible. This is the background to the decision by the hospital management that a Lean healthcare business philosophy should be employed throughout the entire operation.
Lean healthcare is based on the employees themselves developing their work as a natural part of their job. Within healthcare this involves learning to determine what is actually of benefit to patients, what creates added value. Anything that is not beneficial should be eliminated.
Lean philosophy has been in use internationally in the healthcare sector since the beginning of the 21st century, with excellent results, and is now spreading at an increasingly rapid rate. When we co-operate in our patient flows and eliminate complications and time-wasting elements, the quality level for our patients improves while stress levels for our employees are reduced. More time becomes available for work with patients, continued development and research.
Lean Healthcare is based on the following principles:
- the focus must be on a fast, smooth flow of patients
- building structures to enable the hospital's working group itself to improve its working methods on a continuous basis