POCT in Emergency Rooms : One Key Factor for Process Streamlining with Lean Management

Abstract EN

Overcrowding is a common problem in Emergency Departments (ED) worldwide and has a negative impact on patient satisfaction and, more importantly, patient safety.

So, the Emergency Department of the secondary-care hospital Paul Gerhardt Stift in Wittenberg, Germany, was faced with increasing numbers of patients.

Lean management was introduced to analyse, optimise, and standardise ED processes.

Consequently, a project group concentrated on “cycling muda” which is to identify waste and cost drivers along a representative patient path using one suitable Lean tool: mapping the current state in a value stream.

As a result, it became clear that both patients and staff suffered from immense waiting times that lead to risky patient care and employee frustration.

By subsequently eliminating the waste drivers and designing a high-quality patient flow process creating standards supported by state-of-the-art technology, the hospital’s ED turned into a streamlined department with reduced waiting times offering employees a satisfactory and modern workplace where patients benefit from first-class care.