Clinical Application Of Six Sigma

As betterment in quality and dodging of mistakes is necessary in any official organisation, business industry or production unit; it is equally mandatory in the world of clinical processes also because they are related to the health of living beings and there is no place for mistake in such an important procedure. And a need for perfection increases all the more to ensure that the whole process is carried out in an efficient manner without committing even the smallest or insignificant blunders.

There are wide applications of the Six Sigma methodologies as far as clinical processes are concerned. As an instance, the Lean Six Sigma Training can help put in place a procedure that can be used to reduce the waiting time of patients at a doctor’s clinic. It is because when patients have to wait for long hours at the clinic and that too in an ill state of health; the patient forms a negative opinion about the doctor. The Six Sigma methodology organises the whole process in such a manner that all patients take an appointment from the doctor and then visit him according to the time specified to them via appointment. It reduces the unnecessary wastage of time at the patients’ end and the doctor is also stress-free as he knows how many patients he has to attend and performs his job more efficiently.

Similarly, there are medical processes related to surgery of patients, where sometimes patients have to even lose their precious life due to smallest mistakes committed by the doctors or carelessness on the part of the assistants. The Six Sigma Training ascertains that the whole process of surgery right from admission of the patient into the operating theatre till his safe discharge after accomplishment of the surgery is carried out in an efficient manner. It is done by assuring that all the necessary preparations have been made in the execution of a successful surgery. The preparations involve the proper functioning of all the medical gadgets, availability of all the necessary equipments, presence of relevant surgeons in the Operation Theater and arrangements for emergency in case the condition of the patient is too critical.

Following assurance of all the important equipments and processes, the Six Sigma Training ascertains that the surgery is carried out at set time by the expert surgeons and that no instrument is left inside the body of the patient. Although necessary precautions as well as measures are taken by all doctors but the significance of application of Six Sigma procedure lies in the fact that there is no place for any mistake in this process. To get the desired outcomes, hard efforts are made to make sure that the whole process is carried out in a trouble-free manner at each step.

Similarly, the process of Six Sigma can be applied to other fields of clinical processes such as in addressing Chemotherapy medication errors, Reducing Bloodstream Infections (BSIs) in one SICU and betterment in the infertility rates etc. The only important thing is to familiarise the whole medical staff with the methodologies of Six Sigma through Six Sigma Training and making sure that it is acceptable to them open-handed.