FlowOne

Lean in Healthcare: What’s in it for Me?

FlowOne uses the Clinical Transformation process to get healthcare people…regardless of their job title or work role…focused on a goal everyone can agree on: providing the best possible patient care.

That isn’t easy in today’s environment of decentralized organizations, office politics and org chart complexities. Our success comes from engineering a positive outcome for every person in the care process, from administrators and physicians to support staff and patients.

Let us dramatize this advantage with the story of a typical healthcare team. While these stories are fictionalized for privacy’s sake, the comments are typical of what we hear from real world clients. Click any member of the team to hear the story from their perspective.

“I became a physician because I have a passion for helping patients, using my expertise and challenging myself intellectually…and not for managing details in the midst of administrative chaos…Expand to read more

I became a physician because I have a passion for helping patients, using my expertise and challenging myself intellectually…and not for managing details in the midst of administrative chaos. But before our lean transformation, I couldn’t function effectively…I spent a lot of time checking to see that patient information was current, test results were timely, and staff followed up with patients.

FlowOne’s lean approach frees me to focus on the patient interaction I love. By refocusing everyone’s efforts on patient care, the FlowOne team helped me deliver better patient outcomes. It’s great for me, great for patients. It also does a mighty nice job on the financial bottom line.

“I have professional capabilities, medical knowledge and achievements to be proud of, but so often I felt minimized. The other nurses did too…it’s the traditional hierarchy of health care…Expand to read more

”I have professional capabilities, medical knowledge and achievements to be proud of, but so often I felt minimized. The other nurses did too…it’s the traditional hierarchy of health care.

All this changes when you get a lean environment like ours. It makes the most of what I can do. I’m the team leader for patient care. The physicians I support treat me as a full and equal partner. I’ve developed leadership potential I always knew I had, and I’ve been able to pass these skills along to the younger staff members who will be the leaders after I’ve retired.”

“I know this clinic and its operations inside and out. I know the personalities of the physicians and nurses, and the secrets to the organization’s paperwork. In the old system, I felt like I was working like crazy to get patients through the clinic….Expand to read more

“I know this clinic and its operations inside and out. I know the personalities of the physicians and nurses, and the secrets to the organization’s paperwork. In the old system, I felt like I was working like crazy to get patients through the clinic, and sometimes staying long after the last scheduled appointment to catch up.

The FlowOne lean system standardized our processes and put everyone’s focus back where it belongs – on our patients. We’re able to see more patients more efficiently, and in a calm and relaxed work environment. It’s a night and day difference.”

“Obviously, success is my priority in implementing FlowOne lean process improvement. It has allowed us to deliver organizational efficiency and cost reduction, increased satisfaction and retention. Above all, we’ve maximized improvement in patient outcomes….Expand to read more

”Obviously, success is my priority in implementing FlowOne lean process improvement. It has allowed us to deliver organizational efficiency and cost reduction, increased employee satisfaction and retention. Above all, we’ve maximized improvement in patient outcomes.

FlowOne was my choice because it delivers success that works with our organization’s culture. It creates results that everyone can see from the outset, so that people are motivated to undertake culture change.

From a personal standpoint, the success we’ve experienced has been a big boost to my career. By delivering a very powerful strategy for improvement, I’ve been able to dramatically demonstrate the value of my contribution to the organization’s continued success.

“The first time I brought my daughter to the Orthopedic clinic for her broken arm, they kept us waiting almost 45 minutes past our appointment time…Expand to read more

”The first time I brought my daughter to the Orthopedic clinic for her broken arm, they kept us waiting almost 45 minutes past our appointment time. 45 minutes! And once we were in the exam room we waited even more, all the while listening to the staff milling around in the hallways searching for paperwork and asking each other questions. When we saw the doctor, she looked frazzled and took the first few minutes in the room to read my daughter’s chart.

Six months later when we came back for a follow up, I could hardly believe it was the same place! We got in almost immediately. Things were quiet and calm, and the doctor came into the exam room relaxed and ready to go. She even had time enough to be friendly! The short wait times, plus the extra time to ask the doctor questions really helped reduce my daughter’s stress about the appointment (and mine too!) I hope we don’t need to visit the doctor often, but next time we do, we’ll be sure to go back there.”