Question

Reflect on how Charleston Area Medical Center used Six Sigma to promote operating excellence. What steps does CAMC take? Where did Six Sigma have the most impact in CAMC's value chain of operational activities? Why do you think this is so?

Answer 1

DMAIC process for improvement used by Charleston area medical center

Define	Define the problem Determine strategic opportunity for improvement
Measure	Collect data Check the quality of data Understand the behavior
Analyze	Analyze process Develop the theories Verify the root cause of the problem
Improve	Plan improvement strategy Measure effectiveness Implement improvement
Control	Standardize new process Spread improvements

The steps taken by CAMC (Charleston area medical center) and how the six sigma impacted the CAMC’s value chain of operating activities:-

In the US very few patients receive antibiotics within an hour of surgery which the major drawback in healthcare. Usage of antibiotics is continued for 40 hours following the surgery procedure and cleary healthcare providers need to implement better control in order to meet the standards. In 2002 the CAMC hospital in west Virginia decide to improve the performance through a six sigma project to reduce the risks of the infection which is caused after the surgery. Since then the hospital is using the six sigma and related methods to achieve a change and to save many lives by this procedure or strategy.

Define and measure

To improve the existing process six sigma uses the five-phase methods such as define measure analysis improve and control. For this process, the CAMC gathered the team of multidiscipline including the surgeons, chief of CRNA’s, safety personnel, an epidemiologist. The CAMC team decided that the patient should be already given antibiotics prior to the surgery in order to reduce any infection in the patient.

During the initial phase the team developed a detailed case about the problems associated and the risks associated with the surgery patients acquiring an infection during a hospital stay. Critical factors such as mortality rate were taken into consideration. Initial stage they revealed variation in the measurement process but further education resolved the issue. After measuring the results its found that the patient should receive the right antibiotic at the right time and other appropriate interventions.

Analyze and improve

In this phase, statistical tools and fishbone diagrams are used to identify the critical factors impacting the infection rates. Applying these techniques helped them to gain acceptance for the staff as they began to develop new procedures and many process improvements.

Controlling results

As a result of interventions, the data revealed significant improvement in the patients who received the right dose of antibiotics at the right time. While progress and monitoring continue, the process improved by 91% from zero sigma to 2.86 in addition to the safety of the patient which is the major win of the six sigma technique.