Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Improving the medical records department processes by lean management

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

. Sima Ajami
. Saeedeh Ketabi 1
. Akram Sadeghian 2
. Sakine Saghaeinnejad‑Isfahani

1 Department of Management, School of Administrative Sciences and Economics, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

2 Department of Medical Education, Medical Education Development Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, 1

Abstract
Background: Lean management is a process improvement technique to identify waste
actions and processes to eliminate them. The benefits of Lean for healthcare organizations
are that first, the quality of the outcomes in terms of mistakes and errors improves. The
second is that the amount of time taken through the whole process significantly improves.
Aims: The purpose of this paper is to improve the Medical Records Department (MRD)
processes at Ayatolah‑Kashani Hospital in Isfahan, Iran by utilizing Lean management.
Materials and Methods: This research was applied and an interventional study. The data
have been collected by brainstorming, observation, interview, and workflow review. The study
population included MRD staff and other expert staff within the hospital who were stakeholders
and users of the MRD. Statistical Analysis Used: The MRD were initially taught the concepts
of Lean management and then formed into the MRD Lean team. The team then identified and
reviewed the current processes subsequently; they identified wastes and values, and proposed
solutions. Results: The findings showed that the MRD units (Archive, Coding, Statistics, and
Admission) had 17 current processes, 28 wastes, and 11 values were identified. In addition,
they offered 27 comments for eliminating the wastes. Conclusion: The MRD is the critical
department for the hospital information system and, therefore, the continuous improvement
of its services and processes, through scientific methods such as Lean management, are
essential. Originality/Value: The study represents one of the few attempts trying to eliminate
wastes in the MRD.

Keywords

Key words: Information management
Lean
medical records
process improvement
team work
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Journal of Education and Health Promotion
Volume 5, Issue 3
Spring 2015
Pages 1-9

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