Lean Healthcare: A Critical Analysis

The current pandemic situation caused by COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, has put the health sector in the spotlight. It has led to the emergence of new plans and strategies that can help society control and stop the spread of COVID-19. These strategies include the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, led by the World Health Organization (WHO), which highlights and outlines the public health measures that countries should adopt to prepare for and respond effectively to the spread of the coronavirus. The pandemic is much more than a health crisis. It requires a response, matching the main problems detected in health and emergency centers. Some of them are quick and exponential spread of the disease, a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases, the successive waves, an increase in the number of patients, and insufficient response healthcare capacity. These problems become more important when there is also an economic downturn, which has made it impossible to expand budgeted public spending on healthcare. For this reason, research for alternative methods that can improve the quality of healthcare management, but without generating increases in budgetary costs, is timely. Implementing Lean Methodology in healthcare can enhance the quality of service, process improvement, and improve patient satisfaction. This chapter analyzes the application of lean manufacturing in the healthcare sector: from specific departments of a hospital (emergency, surgery, etc. to the healthcare management of a region. It identifies also the most commonly used lean tools and their benefits in order to achieve sustainable competitive advantages.