ABSTRACT
Process improvement approaches such as Lean, Six Sigma, and the Toyota Production System play an important role in transforming healthcare by shining a laser-like focus on waste and perfecting processes that can exhaust ever-scarcer resources. This chapter explains the similarities and differences between the Patient Centered Value System and other process improvement approaches such as Lean; the ways in which adding the Patient Centered Value System to Lean can speed the pace of improvement and healthcare delivery redesign; how integrating the Patient Centered Value System with other process improvement approaches will enhance your ability to address what's important to patients, families, caregivers, and your organization; and how your organization can adopt the Patient Centered Value System quickly, at a minimal cost. Unlike other process improvement approaches, the Patient Centered Value System breaks down organizational silos so prevalent in healthcare by creating cross-functional high-performance care teams known as Working Groups.
