TAG:
process improvement
Using Lean at Henry Ford Transforms Pathology TAT
By Robert Michel | From the Volume XVI No. 11 – August 10, 2009 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: Long-standing work flow traditions in anatomic pathology provide fertile ground for improvement with Lean and similar process improvement methods. That was the case at Henry Ford Health System, where empowered teams in the pathology laboratory employed the principles…
Boston’s Beth Israel Scores Improvement Gains with Lean
By Robert Michel | From the Volume XVI No. 4 – March 16, 2009 Issue
CEO Summary: Lean methods are helping laboratories resolve aggravating problems that have been unresolvable for as long as 10 years. At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, improvement teams involving the laboratory and ED staff addressed high rates of hemolyzed specim…
Cytology Lab Uses Lean to Simplify Processes
By Robert Michel | From the Volume XV No. 15 – November 10, 2008 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: Like many labs today, the gynecologic cytology laboratory at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics had a pre- and post-analytical work flow with many complex steps. This work flow—heavily influenced by a legacy of previous information systems—was inefficient, conta…
Lean Six Sigma Takes Root in Labs & Hospitals
By R. Lewis Dark | From the Volume XV No. 13 – September 29, 2008 Issue
LAST WEEK, MORE THAN 300 ENTHUSIASTIC LAB AND HOSPITAL PROFESSIONALS from 11 different countries around the globe crowded into Atlanta for the Second Annual Lab Quality Confab. They were gathered to hear the latest success stories and breakthroughs in how laboratories and hospitals are using quality …
Phlebotomy Automation Likely To Be Next Trend
By Robert Michel | From the Volume XV No. 13 – September 29, 2008 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: Here’s a prediction that automation of work processes for phlebotomy, specimen collection, and specimen transport may be the next trend. Unfolding developments in the United States are creating a situation parallel to what was seen in Japanese hospital laboratories more tha…
Piedmont Med Lab Mixes ISO with Lean & Six Sigma
By Robert Michel | From the Volume XV No. 12 – September 8, 2008 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: Piedmont Medical Laboratory (PML) could be the only clinical laboratory ever to pursue three quality improvement initiatives simultaneously. Even as it was in the early stages of implementing both Lean and Six Sigma methods, PML also decided to seek ISO 15189:2007 accreditati…
Powerful Trends Reshaping Anatomic Path Profession
By Robert Michel | From the Volume XV No. 2 – February 11, 2008 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: THE DARK REPORT presents its newest biannual review of macro trends reshaping the anatomic pathology profession. These macro trends reveal a profession undergoing change and transformation on multiple fronts. New competitors are crowding into the market, payers and accreditin…
New Study Demonstrates How Lean Labs Outperform Peers
By Robert Michel | From the Volume XV No. 1 – January 21, 2008 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: A new study provides powerful evidence that laboratories using Lean, Six Sigma, and similar process improvement methods consistently outperform conventionally managed laboratories. Using data sets from 100 laboratories, including 14 Lean/Six Sigma laboratories, consultant Tho…
Busy Year Demonstrated By Top Ten Lab Stories
By Robert Michel | From the Volume XIV No. 17 – December 10, 2007 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: As it turns out, 2007 has been an action-packed year with lots of events, plenty of changes, and the promise of even faster evolution across all sectors of the lab testing marketplace. THE D…
Labs in U.S. and Australia Learn from Each Other
By Robert Michel | From the Volume XIV No. 16 – November 19, 2007 Issue
CEO SUMMARY: Australia just conducted its first summit meeting on laboratory management and a near sell-out crowd showed up to learn the best and latest. For the Americans in the audience, there were several surprises. First, Australia has a highly-competitive laboratory sector, comparabl…
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Volume XXXII, No. 6 – April 21, 2025
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