Danuta Bąk
Public Health and Governance, Volume 20, Issue 2, 2022, pp. 34-46
https://doi.org/10.4467/20842627OZ.22.008.17641Lean Management is a management concept whose main goal is to support the management and employees in improving the entity. The concept of Lean Management is of particular importance in the healthcare sector. Its importance in the improvement of health care units resulted in the creation of a subdiscipline of management called Lean Healthcare. The main goal of the empirical research undertaken is to show the role and importance of selected Lean Management methods and tools in health care units. The main research method used in the research procedure was a case study of selected health care units that implemented Lean Management methods and tools in their facilities. The method of analyzing the content of documents of the surveyed units was also used. The most frequently used Lean Management methods and tools in the surveyed healthcare units include: Kaizen, Kanban, Just-in-Time, 5S, A3, Takt Time, Value Streams Mapping, Visual Management, Gemba, Pull system. The surveyed entities decided to implement them mainly due to the desire to eliminate the phenomenon of waste, improve the quality of services and improve the area of services provided. The research also showed that the LM methods and tools implemented by the surveyed units brought measurable organizational, operational, logistic, financial and image benefits. Lean Management in healthcare units brings measurable benefits and multi-range benefits. However, special attention should be paid to the barriers and difficulties that individuals in this sector may encounter in implementing LM methods and tools. The health care sector is specific, so implementing changes in the units representing it should take into account counteracting possible, identified implementation barriers.