Healthcare providers today face an impossible equation: deliver better patient care with fewer resources while maintaining quality standards. What if the solution isn’t working harder, but working smarter?
While most organizations struggle with staff shortages and inefficient processes, forward-thinking providers are discovering how two unique methodologies can help improve efficiency, staff satisfaction, and patient outcomes without requiring massive investments or additional headcount.
In this blog, we explore Lean Six Sigma and an activity called Standard Pig as creative ways to achieve peak efficiency.
Lean Six Sigma represents the marriage of two powerful methodologies. Think of it as the ultimate efficiency power couple. Lean focuses on eliminating waste and speeding up processes.
Six Sigma uses data to reduce defects and variation. Together, they create a comprehensive approach to maximizing performance while maintaining quality standards.
The core philosophy centers on understanding your customer’s needs and mapping every step of your process to deliver value. It’s about working smarter by identifying bottlenecks, redundancies, and unnecessary steps that drain resources without adding value.
Healthcare providers often struggle with staff shortage issues while trying to maintain high-quality patient care. Lean Six Sigma principles help organizations navigate these challenges by improving how work gets done.
What are Lean Six Sigma best practices?
The DMAIC framework forms the backbone of successful Lean Six Sigma implementation:
Define the problem clearly.
Measure current performance with hard data.
Analyze root causes using statistical tools.
Improve by implementing targeted solutions.
Control by monitoring results and sustaining gains.
Start small and build momentum
Choose a pilot project that matters to your team but won’t overwhelm your organization. These quick wins build credibility and demonstrate the value of process improvement.
Let data drive
Establish baseline metrics before making changes, track progress regularly, and use statistical analysis.
Engage your frontline staff from day one
They understand the workarounds and informal processes that keep things running. Their buy-in determines whether improvements stick or fade away.
What can you learn from Lean Six Sigma?
Lean Six Sigma teaches you to see waste everywhere. The eight types of waste in healthcare include:
Once you recognize these patterns, improvement opportunities become obvious.
What changes can you implement to maximize results?
Creating a culture of continuous process improvement will encourage staff to identify problems and suggest solutions.
Standardize your most critical processes
Document best practices and train everyone consistently. When everyone follows the same proven approach, quality improves and training time decreases.
Implement visual management systems
Use dashboards, charts, and status boards to make performance visible. When problems are obvious, teams can respond quickly.
Invest in your people
Train key staff in Lean Six Sigma tools and techniques.
Standard Pig teaches the importance of having clear, standardized processes. Originally developed for continuous improvement training, this exercise shows how different outcomes emerge when people work without clear standards.
It illustrates a fundamental truth in healthcare operations: without agreed-upon processes, every person interprets tasks differently. This variation leads to inconsistent results, communication breakdowns, and poor efficiency.
What are Standard Pig best practices?
The Standard Pig exercise demonstrates several key principles that translate directly into healthcare operations:
Start with clear specifications
Healthcare processes need explicit procedures that leave no room for interpretation.
Ensure stakeholder agreement
Before implementing any process or evaluation, all team members must understand and agree on the approach.
Use visual and written standards
The exercise emphasizes visual communication and written instructions. In healthcare, this translates to:
Test your standards
The three-part pig exercise shows how adding more specific instructions improves consistency. Similarly, healthcare organizations should continuously refine their standards based on real-world feedback and outcomes.
What can you learn from Standard Pig?
The Standard Pig methodology teaches several crucial lessons for healthcare organizations:
Specificity drives consistency: Stay consistent with detailed and specific instructions.
Visual learning accelerates understanding: Use visuals like management boards, process maps, and infographics to communicate standards.
Stakeholder alignment prevents problems: Ensure all team members understand program goals, evaluation methods, and success criteria before starting initiatives.
What changes can you implement to maximize results?
Based on the Standard Pig methodology, healthcare organizations can implement several key changes:
Create written program descriptions
Every program or initiative in your organization must:
Establish stakeholder agreement processes
Before launching new programs or process improvements:
Build evaluation capacity
To strengthen your evaluation capabilities, your organization should:
Organizations that master process improvement will have competitive advantages in attracting and retaining staff. They’ll deliver better patient experiences while maintaining financial sustainability. And they’ll adapt to future challenges and opportunities.
The key is starting now with small, manageable improvements. Both Lean Six Sigma and Standard Pig provide roadmaps for that journey—the choice just depends on where you are today and where you want to go tomorrow.
When we say we grow with you, we mean it. Brightree’s commitment to operational excellence goes beyond software solutions with process expertise that helps organizations achieve peak efficiency.
Ready to level up your efficiency, but not sure how to get started? Talk to our Brightree experts for everything you need to know.
Sydney Creson-Vats
Sr. Optimization Consultant
Sydney is a seasoned healthcare professional with over 20 years of experience in Revenue Cycle, Clinical Quality and Improvement, enterprise project management, and SaaS. She has facilitated teams and implemented new processes using Lean Six Sigma, PDSA, project management, and change management methodologies. At ResMed, Sydney focuses on enhancing healthcare delivery through process optimization and a commitment to quality. She leads teams in building cross-functional collaborations that drive organizational growth and advancements in patient care. Residing in North Carolina, Sydney enjoys spending time with her spouse of 17 years, their 13-year-old son, and their 10-year-old daughter. Sydney's hobbies include traveling, attending soccer matches, Scout events, and renovating a 100-year-old farmhouse in the North Carolina mountains.
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