ABSTRACT
Some hospitals are beginning to formally involve patients and their families in improvement efforts, including asking patients to help define value for their care and the overall services provided by the hospital. A patient who comes in with a suspected hip fracture would value the steps directly required for comfort, diagnosis, and treatment. Hospitals and surgeons have often been paid for non-value-added work because of the activity that was done, rather than the value. Value-added and non-value-added activities can be viewed from the perspective of products, patients, employees, or caregivers. Hospitals should reduce the amount of motion required by employees to get the work done. Wasted motion in a hospital setting is often most obviously seen as unnecessary walking. Some hospitals, including Virginia Mason Medical Center, have made attempts to reduce the overproduction of radiology and other diagnostic procedures. In many cases, hospitals can avoid the overproduction of doing more than necessary for effective patient care.
