>At 08:59 PM 11/14/03 -0500, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >>In a message dated 11/13/2003 11:55:12 PM Eastern Standard Time, >>[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: >> >> > >> > >> > At 10:54 PM 11/13/03 -0500, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >> > >> > >Can someone help me with a book or list of books to help me get a basic >> > >understanding of Six Sigma principles/implementation. >> > >> > >> > Agh - I am surrounded by sick sigmas. My hospital has a major deal with >> GE to buy almost everything that uses electricity from them. Part of the >> deal is that they teach us management skills so I am Six Sigmad CAP >> (Change acceleration projected_ and Worked Out. > > >Ronn wrote- >FWIW, the quote about 3.4 errors/million came from the GE intro page which >popped up in a Google search. > >Admittedly, I was wondering why you were looking for the info, given what I >know of your profession. I wondered if perhaps someone had come up with a >six-sigma program for the medical profession, e,g., a goal that there would >be no more than 3.4 negative outcomes per million hospital admissions, or >something . . .
I am going to be doing some work for a company that uses Six Sigma, and need to have a basic understanding of the principles/process. Lately, I am not always in a place to be on the computer and have several hours where a book fills the time nicely.
So much for my suggestion.
From what I have read so far the Six Sigma approach can be applied to manufacturing, admin or service sectors.
If you recall your basic statistics class, it is based on the idea that all errors less than six standard deviations ("six sigma") from the mean can be eliminated.
Healthcare is considered service sector and reality is that it is a business. Quality is harder to measure in hospitals, etc- for instance it is difficult to determine productivity all the time with people who are not predictable, or varying perceptions of quality or patient care.... widgets are quite a bit more predictable. I don't usually work in conventional hospital settings, and spend more time than the average PT "in" industry.
I had a chance to spend time doing some teaching this spring at a hospital in Maryville, MO, where they did something neat. They are the first health care group to receive the Baldrige Quality Award (not that I knew what that was until they told me- it is usually given to manufacturing, etc). This is a small hospital, but they were incredible- housekeepers making sure patients were comfortable, ER with less than 15-30 min wait, and they were starting "on demand meals" (think room service). The staff didn't grumble or think this was out of the ordinary- talk about a quality culture. Maybe 3.4 is not such an off the wall thing (grin).
My smart-aleck response was of course referring to "negative outcome" as it is used as a euphemism in the medical profession: i.e., only 3.4 patients out of a million die or are not cured . . .
As Of This Month I've Been Waiting 22 Years For A "Cure" Or At Least An Effective Treatment Maru
-- Ronn! :)
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