INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING CONCEPTS IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTHCARE USING LEAN – A ROAD MAP

Background: “Lean” is business improvement methodology focusing on delivering of services or products at better, faster and at low cost. Objective: Emergency Departments (EDs) face the challenges of crowding, waiting times, and cost containment. This review focuses on literature on how lean principles and tools can be applied for overall improvement and working in ED. Materials and methods: Primary studies showing Lean interventions and implementation in manufacturing, healthcare and ED where studied which focused on patient satisfaction, waiting times, left without being seen were selected. Results: A road map was prepared to reduce waste and to increase the overall performance of the ED. Medical issues and the impact of roadmap on medical processes are not part of the review. Conclusions: A road map will be able to reduce the waste in ED and higher quality studies are required before large-scale implementation of Lean interventions in ED following the proposed road map.