Lean six sigma in rural hospitals: The case of the ortho clinic

Successful applications of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) have been well documented and disseminated across sectors. LSS has also had a significant impact on the healthcare industry. However, it has not always been the case for rural hospitals. Rural healthcare organizations, as any other health care facility, face the pressure of improving the efficiency and quality of patient care. The problem is that, rural hospitals typically do not have enough resources, expertise, and the supporting infrastructure necessary for successful LSS project executions. Thus, healthcare professionals, in particular from rural hospitals, continue to struggle to apply and reap the benefits of LSS. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how, through the partnership with an academic institution, it is possible to increase the likelihood of LSS success. In this research, we argue that through university partnerships, rural hospitals can leverage the resources needed for the application of LSS. More specifically, this paper illustrates the application of LSS to the orthopedics clinic in a rural community. This project was the result of a collaborative effort between a team of undergraduate senior engineering management students and hospital staff. Together, the project team improved the total elapsed time in the preoperative total joint replacement (TJR).