Title: Literature review on lean healthcare implementation: assessment methods and practices

Authors: Byanca Pinheiro Augusto; Guilherme Luz Tortorella

Addresses: Departamento de Engenharia de Produção e Sistemas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Reitor João David Ferreira Lima, s/n – Trindade, Florianópolis – SC, 88040-900, Brazil ' Departamento de Engenharia de Produção e Sistemas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Reitor João David Ferreira Lima, s/n – Trindade, Florianópolis – SC, 88040-900, Brazil

Abstract: Results indicate that lean healthcare (LH) is a relatively recent research topic and the lack of further evidence impairs the benchmarking with previous studies. Therefore, this article aims to conduct a literature review on LH practices and the existing assessment methods to its implementation, drawing a comparative analysis between evidence found in manufacturing environments and healthcare context. The identification of practices and assessment methods was carried out through a systematic literature review in both contexts: healthcare and manufacturing. This study contributes in indicating gaps and opportunities in the current assessment methods of lean healthcare implementation, also considering the most frequent practices cited in the literature.

Keywords: lean practices; assessment methods; literature review; lean healthcare.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2019.098351

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2019 Vol.32 No.3, pp.285 - 306

Received: 10 Jan 2017
Accepted: 18 Feb 2017
Published online: 18 Mar 2019 *

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