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Mutual Partnerships

Patient Safety Quality Monthly, August 15, 2005

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Dear Colleague,

A few months ago I was at a hospital in Wisconsin for a board educational program on quality. When I am asked to speak to a board, it is often because there have been recent problems with some aspect of the quality program and the CEO or the Board is seeking some new direction. Other times, it is because the Board is just beginning to realize that it is as responsible for quality as it is for finance and needs some basic education on what that really means.

But this time was different. The hospital was not in trouble and the quality program had been doing reasonably well. In this instance, the CEO of this hospital wanted to make sure they were doing the best job possible and wanted to explore new ideas to see how they might fit. It was a great session because the board members and staff were open to the possibility of change if it would make them a better organization.

But I also learned something as well from the time I spent with the organization. The most important lesson related to the strategy they took regarding Six Sigma and Lean Thinking, two of the more prominent new performance improvement approaches being tried by health care organizations. Implementing new approaches, Six Sigma in particular can be expensive and usually require importing expensive consultants. The one thing you don't want to do is try to train yourself in these techniques because you will most likely waste time and get poor results.

Now I am not opposed to expensive consultants, currently being one myself. But having spent most of my career in hospital operations, I can appreciate when someone takes advantage of an opportunity to avoid the expense but still get the expertise. In this case, the hospital recognized that these techniques come from industries outside of healthcare and there happened to be a major manufacturing company in their town that utilized these techniques. Together they created a mutually beneficial partnership.

The company lent the hospital a Six Sigma blackbelt for six months to lead a few demonstration projects. It also allowed hospital staff to participate in training at its facility. Since the company used a combination of six Sigma and Leaning Thinking, the project allowed the hospital to become familiar with both techniques. With this jump start, the hospital can now begin to invest its own resources in these programs with confidence the investment will pay off.

What did the company get? Better, more efficient healthcare for its employees and their families. Not a bad deal.

The take home lesson here is similar to what Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz. Maybe you don't have to go far from home to find what you are looking for. It may be right in your own backyard.

Regards,

Bob Marder, MD
Practice Director, Quality and Patient Safety
The Greeley Company

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