Efficacy and efficiency of a lean cataract pathway: a comparative study.
BACKGROUND
The demand for cataract surgery is rising, calling for pathways that have good access and are cost-effective. Lean thinking is a management strategy, aimed at improving quality while reducing costs. Lean production processes are designed to identify gaps between expected and actual performance.


OBJECTIVE
To analyse the efficacy and efficiency of a lean cataract pathway.


METHODS
Lean care delivered to a prospective cohort (616 cataract patients) was compared (1) with traditional care delivered to a historical cohort (591 cataract patients) and (2) with expected lean care in the prospective cohort. To evaluate efficacy, the authors analysed how many patients received care that adhered to the lean pathway's specifications. To evaluate efficiency, the authors analysed how often patients visited the hospital and how many additional patients could access the pathway.


RESULTS
In the lean pathway, patient visits decreased by 23%, and access to the cataract pathway increased with 42%. A 40% decrease in patient visits and a 76% increase in access could have been realised if healthcare staff would have adhered to the lean pathway's specifications.


CONCLUSIONS
Lean pathways can realise large improvements, and still have a significant gap between expected and actual care delivery. The challenge for healthcare teams is not to improve care delivery by using lean pathways as opposed to using traditional pathways, but to strive for optimal performance by consistently adhering to the specifications of the lean pathway.
van Vliet
Ellen Joan
EJ
Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, Catholic University Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. ellen.vanvliet@oogziekenhuis.nl
Sermeus
Walter
W
van Gaalen
Claudia M
CM
Sol
Johannes C A
JC
Vissers
Jan M H
JM
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002387:Cataract Extraction; D015331:Cohort Studies; D019091:Critical Pathways; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000379:methods*