We all heard the old saying “Every Second Counts” and in healthcare seconds can be the difference between a satisfied patient or an unhappy one.

Many lean leaders will agree that you have to start small and take baby steps to achieve real progress towards your improvement goals. This is very prevalent in outpatient clinics where many basic tasks are performed over and over.

Reducing the time it takes to do certain tasks by even 2-3 seconds can have a huge impact on a clinics’ bottom line.

This article paints a fantastic picture of what can happen when lean is applied in an outpatient setting. With so many options to look at improving where should you start? One place to start would be increasing patient satisfaction by reducing the overall wait times in your clinic.