Healthcare major adopts Kaizen to improve efficiency in delivery

The practices that have become a part of manufacturing growth lore, especially in this part of the country, have been embraced by new healthcare operators. While healthcare major Apollo had adopted these principles in specific divisions, the recent entity to join the race is Kauvery Hospital.

Dr S Manivannan, Joint MD, says the idea behind embracing Kaizen was to be able to bring in small changes, that could spur innovation and simultaneously involve employees in service delivery. “It has been two years since we started implementing this technique that has worked wonders in the manufacturing sector,” he notes, adding that a manufacturing team had coached their people to understand the nuances of Kaizen.

“A leading auto component maker from the city, Rane, conducted a quality control workshop at our premises eight months ago, where problems were identified. Later, groups were formed and given the task of coming up with solutions,” he says. Kauvery Hospital, which has facilities in the city as well as in Hosur and Trichy, have seen the results of this initiative. “Employees have come forth with at least 1,000 improvements out of which 100 were selected across our healthcare units,” he says. Measures like installing reflective mirrors in ramp zones mean a world of difference to patients.

Other examples include signage for patients at relevant spots and eliminating fixtures that take up excessive space, leading to inefficient deployment of resources. Savings through material cost reduction or resolutions of patient-related issues using Kaizen techniques were the focus of using this quality drive.

“Such initiatives help in addressing issues such as employee detachment,” says Manivannan, who conducts ‘coffee with Kaizens’ sessions every month so that efforts are recognised. Kaizen was aimed at addressing communication-related challenges in situations such as death or palliative care or organ donation where counselling is needed.

BG Menon of Acme Consulting, says “Kaizen began in manufacturing, specifically in the automobile sector. In hospitals, however, its application is new mainly because hospitals have traditionally been poorly organised work places with minimal systems and procedures in place, to serve as a framework to get something like a Kaizen, TQM, Six Sigma or a 5S implemented.”