Six Sigma and Hospital Quality

Focus of the Case Study : For the purpose of this case analysis, you have been brought in as a consultant to a large urban clinic that is considering adopting a six-sigma strategy. The clinic offers primary care, emergency care, endoscopy, colonoscopy and gastrointestinal medicine. The clinic leadership has engaged you to research the process improvements at various hospitals attained through Six Sigma. The article identifies hospitals and healthcare systems that were early adopters of Six Sigma Your case study should have the following structure: o Title page that contains the following information: o Course name and number o Case Title – Six Sigma and Hospital Quality o Case Study o Your name and the date The case analysis should be structured as follows: o Introduction – In the Introduction, you should present a very brief overview of the reasons why healthcare organizations are considering adopting Six Sigma for the purpose of process improvement. o Examination and analysis of the issues – As you discuss the issues presented in the case, examine at least the following areas to provide your client with an in-depth analysis. Your examination can also include other topics that you feel relate to the issue at hand. o Existing quality management tools particularly as these apply to healthcare settings. o Accreditor perspectives such as the Joint Commission o Establishing and monitoring standards within a healthcare setting o Human resource issues such as staff training. o Summary of the findings and recommendations – Prepare a set of findings and recommendations based on your reading of the article and your research. o The title and reference pages are not considered to be a part of the main body of the case study. The length of the main body should be between 2000 to 2500 words. Some helpful tips: Don’t write your entire paper in a continuous essay format, instead separate it by titles as suggested above (Intro, Examination and analysis, Summary). Remember that for this case study you are taking the role of a consultant giving advise to the hospital about quality and process improvement methods. In order to do this you conduct a research to see what existing quality management tools are out there (such as TQM, Reengineering, lean and Six Sigma etc). You then focus on six sigma in particular to see which hospitals/clinics have already adapted it and what the results are. This research and information that you present must be real (not made up) and backed by actual sources. You must also present the viewpoint of some well known accrediting agencies such as the Joint Commission on six sigma. You can then show how will adapting of six sigma impact the hospital’s overall staffing and resources etc. Please also make sure to read the article that I have provided above called “Addressing Variation in Hospital Quality: Is Six Sigma the Answer?” . This article can be used as one of your 6 references, but you still need additional references to include. You can agree or disagree with the author of this article, but in either case you need to provide additional references to support your argument