The lean approach is a viable framework for reducing costs and enhancing the quality of patient care in emergency departments (EDs). Reports on lean-inspired quality improvement initiatives are rapidly growing but there is little emphasis on the philosophy behind the processes, which is the essential ingredient in sustaining transformation.
This article describes lean philosophy, also referred to as lean, lean thinking and lean healthcare, and its main concepts, to enrich the knowledge and vocabulary of nurses involved or interested in quality improvement in EDs. The article includes examples of lean strategies to illustrate their practical application in EDs.
Emergency Nurse. 25, 6, 38-41. doi: 10.7748/en.2017.e1679
Correspondence Peer reviewThis article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software
Conflict of interestNone declared
For author guidelines, go to rcni.com/writeforusReceived: 29 November 2016
Accepted: 29 August 2017
or
Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now
Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more
