Title: The medication process – a design for Six Sigma project

Authors: Ida Gremyr; Susanne Gustavsson; Anette Gideberg

Addresses: CHI-Centre for Healthcare Improvement, Division of Quality Sciences, Department of Technology Management and Economics, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden. ' CHI-Centre for Healthcare Improvement, Division of Quality Sciences, Department of Technology Management and Economics, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden; Skaraborg Hospital, 54185 Skövde, Sweden. ' CHI-Centre for Healthcare Improvement, The Division of Internal Medicine, Skaraborg Hospital, 54185 Skövde, Sweden

Abstract: This paper studies the application of Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) in the medication process at Skaraborg Hospital, Sweden. The study concluded that DFSS was beneficial in designing the medication process in the sense that it generated concrete operational improvements, but also led to the establishment of a process organisation that was responsible for continuous development of the process. A further benefit was a greater understanding of the complexity of several customer groups with variation between and within groups. However, the challenges in applying DFSS in a healthcare setting included assessing implicit patient needs and the need for organisational maturity in order to support the DFSS project and handle project results.

Keywords: medication process; patient process; design for six sigma; DFSS; process management; healthcare management; customer focus; robustness; competitive advantage; Sweden; hospitals; implicit needs; patient needs; organisational maturity.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSCA.2012.045260

International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage, 2012 Vol.7 No.1, pp.1 - 11

Published online: 22 Apr 2015 *

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