The lean six sigma methodology: apllications in thoracic surgery

Six Sigma and Lean are two prominent quality improvement methodologies that have been validated across several areas of healthcare. Despite a slow initial uptake within the surgical unit, the use of Lean and Six Sigma has increased markedly. The Six Sigma quality improvement methodology, is a data-driven approach developed by the Motorola Corporation that seeks to improve outcomes by eliminating the variation within a process. To date, clinical use of the Six Sigma methodology has focused on efficiency issues, but the application of the Six Sigma method has been used successfully to improve clinical results and to reduce surgical complications in repetitive procedures. Therefore, the use of this methodology in the healthcare arena has focused mainly on areas of business operations, throughput, and case management and has focused on efficiency outcomes. After the revision of the methodology, the chapter presents a brief clinical example of the use of Lean Six Sigma as a quality improvement method in the reduction of the complications during and after VATS major procedures. Using the Lean Six Sigma methodology, the multidisciplinary teams could identify multiple modifiable points across the surgical process. These process improvements could be applied to different surgical specialities and could result in a measurement, from a statistical point of view, of the surgical quality. Using the Lean Six Sigma methodology, thoracic surgeons could identify multiple modifiable points across the surgical process. Process improvements based on these findings could be applied to different surgical specialities and could result in a measurement, from a statistical point of view, of surgical quality.