A study, published in the Journal for Healthcare Quality, examined the effect of the Lean 5S approach on surgical instrument availability in the operating room.
Here are four insights:
1. The approach consists of:
• Sort — determining instrument usage and waste
• Simplify — removing unnecessary instruments
• Sweep — confirm availability of needed instruments
• Standardize — all trays the same for a given procedure
• Self-discipline — monitor success
2. The primary outcome was reduction in unnecessary instruments delivered to the operating room.
3. Researchers also saw a reduction in the number of instruments for minimally invasive spine surgery by 70 percent. Setup time decreased 37 percent.
4. The study also notes that there was a potential institutional annual cost savings of $2.8 million with the Lean 5S approach.