Principles of Productivity in Manufacturing and How They May Apply to Health Care

One key principle of the system is to eliminate any activity that does not add value to an organization’s end product. This aspect can be applied to the healthcare system. For instance, any activity in a hospital that does not provide excellent patient care can be avoided. In an emergency room visit activities that add value include registering the patient, having a nurse triage the patient, and making diagnosis by a doctor (Upshaw-Owens, 2019). Activities such as staying longer in the waiting room or a patient room does not add value. One of the efforts of standardized care is establishing an average length of stay for patients. However, these principles may eliminate some activities that might be linked to patient outcomes but not part of the hospital process (Upshaw-Owens, 2019). For instance, these standardized principles do not support the fact that a doctor may need to provide certain advice to a patient out of experience though not included in the care plan

Another principle used by Toyota that could work in a hospital environment is referred to as a just-in-time inventory strategy. It aims at reducing inventory and associated carrying costs. According to Upshaw-Owens (2019), overstocking and understocking are both dangerous to a hospital. Overstocking is associated with the cost of storing extra supplies and costs due to supplies that expire before use. Many hospitals have not put in place measures that minimize expenses. Standardizing processes and steps can help minimize total costs as well as reduce variations in healthcare. A healthcare facility can estimate the number of patients who visits a facility or the amount of resources used within a given period to prevent overstocking. However, proper monitoring is expected because more patients may visit than expected.

Additionally, manufacturing companies such as Toyota have embraced technology to improve the process. The use of technology in any industry improves the process and eliminates wastes. This quality improvement process should be strengthened in the healthcare sector. Like in the manufacturing sector, all healthcare institutions must embrace technology (Markovitz, 2016). This is one area healthcare has shown significant improvement with the introduction and implementation of electronic health records, radiation machines, intensive care unit among others. Technology reduces manual labor involved in various hospital processes hence improving efficiency. Hospitals that embrace technology register reduced emergency room waiting times by replacing their paper medical records with electronic health records. Embracing technology is another concept of the manufacturing industry and standardized care that has worked well for many healthcare facilities or organizations (Markovitz, 2016). The electronic health record also enhances communication within the organization and also perfumes many other things that improve patients care.

Toyota and other manufacturing companies put more value on their employees. They differ from healthcare organizations by putting the authority of improving an organization into the hands of employees (Osono, Shimizu, & Takeuchi, 2008). Employees directly interact with the product and may make better improvements than the management. In a hospital setting, care providers are directly involved with patients. This principle can work when care providers are included in decision making process and other programs rather than the administrator alone. There is no a significant problem associated with this principle because care providers understand the process better than the management.

Another good principle used in manufacturing companies that would work in healthcare is to focus on systematic improvement. The organizations should be able to focus on the identification of the root cause of the problem and the adjusting process to stop the same problems from happening in the future. A continuous improvement philosophy is very vital in making the process work better (Kurth & Morton, 2013). It makes the process faster and produce high-quality products and services out of inputs. Creating and fostering an environment of continuous improvement makes the employees develop the skills required for the process. Healthcare companies need to begin their improvement and problem solving by first tackling small issues before the bigger ones. Based on the examples provided above, it is apparent that the concept of quality improvement used in the manufacturing industry can be used in the healthcare system.

Literature has also supported the implementation of standardized processes in the healthcare system. According to Upshaw-Owens (2019), standardized care shows how healthcare organizations can use evidence-based medicine systematically to ensure patients receive quality care. Standardized process is an integral part of safe, effective, and affordable care. B