Healthcare systems engineering: an interdisciplinary approach to achieving continuous improvement.
This paper argues that a systems approach can significantly enhance healthcare improvement efforts in patient safety, service quality and healthcare cost containment. The application of systems thinking to healthcare improvement encompasses three key principles: the systems perspective of healthcare processes, structured problem solving and the closed loop of continuous system improvement. These are encapsulated in a conceptual framework of continuous system improvement, which includes a reference architecture model and an analysis and design process model. Combined into a closed-loop, this framework allows users to understand and appropriately apply relevant functions, issues and analytical techniques. Practical applications of the framework are presented.
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. WuBi@missouri.edu
Bin
B
Wu
Cerry
C
Klein
Tamara T
TT
Stone
D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control; D017751:Safety Management; D013597:Systems Analysis; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000379:methods*