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Blog - Woodside Quality Pathways

 

This page is about Six Sigma and Lean projects in Health Care; Antique Photo here symbolizes healthcareHealth Care/Medical Devices

In the area of Health Care, Woodside quality solutions has experience with large-scale planning as well as Lean and Six Sigma process improvements for hospital business processes and clinical protocols. In addition, we have worked mprove yields and reduce costs for Medical Device manufacturers.

Accounts Receivable Delays Reduction

Pre-Project Situation
Client was averaging 87 days for Accounts Receivable at an estimated loss of $3,000 per day.
No focused effort had previously been made because of a feeling that the organization was “probably better than the industry average.”

Project Highlights
A Six Sigma DMAIC project team discovered that wrong-party billings were running at a rate of about 4000 errors per month
Streamlined and redefined staff duties to eliminate mixture of clinical/business duties and focus training where it was needed.

Results
Extraordinarily high levels of engagement among top executives—CEO attended subsequent Six Sigma Green Belt training and led a project.
Dramatic reduction in patient complaints due to billing disputes
Documented annual savings due to decreased days in Accounts Receivable: $600,000.
Additional savings realized via reduction in hiring/training new staff: $180,000 per year.
Total investment in project: $122,000
Return On Investment (year of project) : $730,000

Lab Kit Cost Reduction

Pre-Project Situation
Major customers were asking for significant cost reductions in clinical trials materials costs
Customers were dissatisfied with cost of service
Widely varying demand for study supply kits created difficulty for inventory and labor planning

Project Highlights
Six Sigma Team discovered that the majority of costs were inbound and outbound shipping and not kit waste
Largest source of waste was in difference between estimated and actual number of subjects in the clinical study
Planned for web-enabled procedures to facilitate customer access, ordering, and communication

Results
Reduced overall clinical trial kit cost by 20%
Implemented new shipping procedures to reduce shipping costs.

Medical Device Scrap Reduction

Pre-Project Situation
Major medical device manufacturer suffered high cost and scrap rates producing a surgical device with a growing market
Many competing ideas for fixes to the problem had led to inaction and growing frustration about how to improve yield

Project Highlights
Foreign material analysis led Six Sigma Green Belt to investigation, change and new standard clean room procedures.
The team discovered and systematically analyzed eight major sources of scrap and rework in the process

Results
Project completed within 3 months; success led to other successful project initiatives
Reduced foreign material scrap from over $11,000 per month to $1,015 per month
Additionally, reduced per unit scrap cost in three months, amounting to a projected annual savings of a minimum of $263,000 at current production rates.
Total documented savings (first year): over $357,000