Study pegs cost of Lean implementation in Sask. healthcare system at almost $50M over two years

A study on the direct and indirect cost estimates for the initial phase of the province-wide implementation of Lean activities in Saskatchewan finds that the costs of investing in healthcare reform initiatives to improve quality and safety have been underreported and are often underestimated. The study finds that the total cost for implementation of Lean over two years (2012–2014), including consultants and new hires, ranged from $44 million to $49.6 million, with consultant costs accounting for nearly 50% of the total. The estimated cost of Lean events alone ranged from $16 million to $19.5 million, with Rapid Process Improvement Workshops requiring the highest input of resources. The authors conclude that due to the substantial financial and human investments required, policy makers must carefully consider whether and how these efforts result in the desired transformations. As part of the transformation of the healthcare system in Saskatchewan, five main Lean processes and management activities were widely implemented:

1. Rapid process improvement workshops, multi-week, highly detailed interventions that aim to increase efficiency and to improve patient safety and care.
2. 5S (sorting, simplifying, sweeping, standardizing and self-discipline) event;
3. Kaizen basics workshops, training workshops with the purpose of introducing the basic concepts of Lean as a continuous quality improvement approach and exposing the healthcare staff to Lean terminology;
4. Mistake proofing projects and the North American Tour: Mistake proofing projects are focused projects with the purpose of eliminating defects and errors in the healthcare system, while a North American Tour (NAT) is a 5-day training tour to learn how to organize and lead mistake proofing projects through observation and meetings with other organizations that are well-known examples of successful implementation of Lean; and
5. Kanban management, a management activity for implementing the just-in-time (JIT) production system to make sure that required supplies and materials become available when and where they are needed.