Better health care with industry methods

What happens when hospitals use production models designed for industry? New study from JIBS.

Industry production models have become popular among Swedish county councils when aiming to improve care quality. But does it work? And how does it affect the employees?

The short answer is yes. It does work. A study initiated by professor in economics at JIBS, Tomas Müllern, shows this.

“One might say that you can get most things to work, as long as you do it right”, he says.

But how do you do it right when implementing a production model at a hospital? According to the study, these are the key factors:

“Tear down walls between professions and make use of each other’s competence. Create teams with representatives from multiple professions to keep up speed and dynamics. Listen to each other with no regards to profession. And choose a model that suits the organization and carry it out consequently and long-sightedly”, Müllern concludes.

The study was made at eight different clinics in Jönköping, Halland and Västra Götaland. The groups involved were chosen because they had stated that they are working according to one of the management models Lean (the Toyota model), Sex Sigma or Process management.