Introduction As I am called in as a consultant and the question here is, whether to adopt six sigma strategy or not. As you all know, this is a 350-beded, large, free standing clinic providing both primary and specialty care, mainly gastroenterology with diagnostic interventions like endoscopy, colonoscopy and a fully functional emergency department. As it located in an urban area, it is the primary access to care for the people reside in the urban area. And I just want to mention here, a part of the Hippocratic Oath, “Primum non nocere”, the Latin phrase that means "First, do no harm" is a basis for ethics taught in medical school. Preventing harms associated with the delivery of healthcare is paramount to improve patient safety, a key component …show more content…
And the health care industry is wrought with defects and process variation. Such as, billing errors, postoperative infection and unplanned readmission are just a few examples (www.isixsigma.com). Hospitals are adopting six sigma strategies higher than before because patient care is hands-on, the possibility for a variance is larger than in other process-driven industries. Variables may be small and difficult to quantify, but Six Sigma’s data-driven approach can result in measurable improvement (Dunn.T, 2015). Moreover, Six Sigma is a management method that addresses error prevention, problem solving, problem detection and managed care (Dunn.T, 2015). The accountability aspects of Six Sigma, as well as its timely ability to identify and solve error, presents an asset to hospital administrators. Overall, the reasons why healthcare organizations are considering adopting Six Sigma for the purpose of process improvement is because, as mentioned above, of its capability to successfully reduce error and achieve efficiency in healthcare organizations(Woodard,2005). The adoption of Six Sigma helps define the process for problem solving and works on a proven methodology to solve