Lean design in outpatient facilities can improve patient and staff experience, according to an article on the Health Facilities Management. 

Lean facilities are important for two reasons, according to Craig Comish, chief operating officer, CARTI Cancer Center, Little Rock, Ark. Patient convenience is first.

“Obviously, the other component is that ... every year they’re going to pay us less to do more. And so, if we don’t create the efficiencies from an operational standpoint that allow our staff to be optimally efficient in the delivery of care to those patients, then we, by definition, are designing a facility that will not assist us in our mission of improving quality at the same time we improve cost-effectiveness.”

Lean design and process standardization are helping organizations to achieve this. But after a facility is built, process improvement remains a continuous journey.

Read the article.