PS1-29: Changing the Culture of Medicine: An Exploration of Lean Healthcare in Primary Care

摘要

Background/AimsDespite its soaring costs, healthcare in the U.S. still suffers from inefficiencies and wastefulness. Given recent health care reform efforts, healthcare organizations know significant change is on the horizon, and in anticipation of that, some organizations have begun adopting delivery systems that address these wastes and inefficiencies. One system that has gained considerable attention in recent years is commonly referred to as Lean Healthcare. Originating from the manufacturing industry, this approach to healthcare focuses on retaining value for the patient and eliminating non-value or waste. However, implementing Lean healthcare is not without its challenges. One major challenge to implementing Lean is essentially cultural. More specifically, the values and norms associated with Lean and those deeply entrenched in the field of medicine may conflict, and therefore reconciling them may be necessary to successfully implement Lean.