Healthcare is an ever changing and evolving entity. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) enacted by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010 has forced Healthcare to revaluate and focus on new ideas and trends in order to adhere to the rules and regulations set by the ACA. The laboratory is an integral component of the healthcare industry. The laboratory is part of the “front-line” in patient diagnosis and treatment. It is essential for the laboratory and other healthcare disciplines to evolve in the ever-changing healthcare environment. There are three significant trends in healthcare that directly involve the laboratory. These trends are: value-based versus volume-based reimbursement, Lean/Six Sigma processes, and Point-of-Care Testing.
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Lean or better known as Six Sigma is a new trend among the laboratories. Six Sigma is a process of mapping the laboratory and making recommendations to improve performances (Villa, 2010). “ Six Sigma was introduced into healthcare to implement significant progress improvements to drive quality, cost, safety, and delivery of care” (Villa, 2010,p.340). “Six Sigma is a systematic approach to shorten the time between customer (patient, doctor, or nurse) request and service delivery by identifying and eliminating sources of waste (non-value-added activities)” (Villa, 2010, p.340). The basic concept of the Six Sigma trend is to obtain a workflow that minimizes the efforts made by the employees (walking distance, tests waiting for reviews, and processing times) and maximizes the output of results to the customers (Joseph, 2006). There are five steps to a lean lab effort. Thompson et al. (2014) lists them as follows: “First, the lab must define the goals for improvement. Second, map the laboratory and see where the waste exists. Third, develop a specific plan for the improvements. Fourth, implement the changes and the fifth and final step being measuring, monitoring, and sustaining these new improvements” (p. 122). In every industry cutting costs is paramount and staying within or under the budget is a top priority. The Six Sigma trend was developed to provide a smoother laboratory process without waste therefore reducing cost, time wasters, and in turn improving the process of delivering care (Villa, 2010). The Six Sigma process involves change and commitment on the part of the laboratory and its employees to think and function in new cost effective ways. The benefits for employees are working more efficiently, the benefits for the hospital are cost reduction, and the benefits for patient care are
Lean or better known as Six Sigma is a new trend among the laboratories. Six Sigma is a process of mapping the laboratory and making recommendations to improve performances (Villa, 2010). “ Six Sigma was introduced into healthcare to implement significant progress improvements to drive quality, cost, safety, and delivery of care” (Villa, 2010,p.340). “Six Sigma is a systematic approach to shorten the time between customer (patient, doctor, or nurse) request and service delivery by identifying and eliminating sources of waste (non-value-added activities)” (Villa, 2010, p.340). The basic concept of the Six Sigma trend is to obtain a workflow that minimizes the efforts made by the employees (walking distance, tests waiting for reviews, and processing times) and maximizes the output of results to the customers (Joseph, 2006). There are five steps to a lean lab effort. Thompson et al. (2014) lists them as follows: “First, the lab must define the goals for improvement. Second, map the laboratory and see where the waste exists. Third, develop a specific plan for the improvements. Fourth, implement the changes and the fifth and final step being measuring, monitoring, and sustaining these new improvements” (p. 122). In every industry cutting costs is paramount and staying within or under the budget is a top priority. The Six Sigma trend was developed to provide a smoother laboratory process without waste therefore reducing cost, time wasters, and in turn improving the process of delivering care (Villa, 2010). The Six Sigma process involves change and commitment on the part of the laboratory and its employees to think and function in new cost effective ways. The benefits for employees are working more efficiently, the benefits for the hospital are cost reduction, and the benefits for patient care are