The Availability of Infusion Pumps in a Hospital

In this column we provide an example of the application of Lean Six Sigma to healthcare (for an introduction, see De Mast et al., 2006). The specific case study is about reducing operational costs of infusion pumps in a top-ten general (i.e., nonacademic) hospital in The Netherlands.

First, we provide a brief background for the case study. We then highlight some of the statistical aspects. This study is interesting because, unlike the common assumption, it shows that there are no trade-offs between quality and cost; i.e., we can improve quality and reduce costs at the same time.

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