Biomaterial Database

The Six Sigma initiative at Mount Sinai Medical Center. 2008

Robert Chassin

Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY 10029, USA. robert.chassin@mountsinai.org

Lean Six Sigma, in various forms, has been used widely in many Fortune 500 companies. Motorola, General Electric, Sony, American Express, and Bechtel all use Six Sigma to improve quality and performance. While the impact of this methodology has been documented extensively by the press in manufacturing and transactional settings, less evidence is available regarding its utility in health care environments. Mount Sinai Medical Center initiated a Six Sigma program in 2000 to determine its applicability and value in a large academic medical center. This article discusses Mount Sinai Medical Center's experience adapting this methodology to improve both patient care and business processes and outcomes. We present an overview of Six Sigma, and offer examples of projects undertaken using this data-driven approach to performance improvement. Lastly, the article provides insights and lessons learned regarding this organization-wide experience.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009519	New York City	City located at the mouth of the Hudson River, in New York State.
D011787	Quality of Health Care	The levels of excellence which characterize the health service or health care provided based on accepted standards of quality.	Pharmacy Audit,Quality of Care,Quality of Healthcare,Audit, Pharmacy,Care Quality,Health Care Quality,Healthcare Quality,Pharmacy Audits
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000046	Academic Medical Centers	Medical complexes consisting of medical school, hospitals, clinics, libraries, administrative facilities, etc.	Medical Centers, Academic,Medical Centers, University,University Medical Centers,Academic Medical Center,Center, Academic Medical,Center, University Medical,Centers, Academic Medical,Centers, University Medical,Medical Center, Academic,Medical Center, University,University Medical Center
D015397	Program Evaluation	Studies designed to assess the efficacy of programs. They may include the evaluation of cost-effectiveness, the extent to which objectives are met, or impact.	Evaluation, Program,Family Planning Program Evaluation,Program Appropriateness,Program Effectiveness,Program Sustainability,Appropriateness, Program,Effectiveness, Program,Evaluations, Program,Program Evaluations,Program Sustainabilities,Sustainabilities, Program,Sustainability, Program
D016730	Program Development	The process of formulating, improving, and expanding educational, managerial, or service-oriented work plans (excluding computer program development).	Program Descriptions,Description, Program,Descriptions, Program,Development, Program,Program Description
D017064	Process Assessment, Health Care	An evaluation procedure that focuses on how care is delivered, based on the premise that there are standards of performance for activities undertaken in delivering patient care, in which the specific actions taken, events occurring, and human interactions are compared with accepted standards.	Process Assessment (Health Care),Assessment, Process,Process Measures,Assessment, Process (Health Care),Assessments, Process,Assessments, Process (Health Care),Measure, Process,Measures, Process,Process Assessment,Process Assessments,Process Assessments (Health Care),Process Measure
D017749	Total Quality Management	The application of industrial management practice to systematically maintain and improve organization-wide performance. Effectiveness and success are determined and assessed by quantitative quality measures.	Continuous Quality Management,Lean Six Sigma,Sigma Metrics,Six Sigma,Lean Six Sigmas,Management, Continuous Quality,Management, Total Quality,Metric, Sigma,Metrics, Sigma,Sigma Metric,Sigma, Six,Sigmas, Six,Six Sigma, Lean,Six Sigmas,Six Sigmas, Lean
D019037	Urban Health Services	Health services, public or private, in urban areas. The services include the promotion of health and the delivery of health care.	Health Services, Urban,Services, Urban Health,Health Service, Urban,Service, Urban Health,Urban Health Service