Maximizando a eficiência de um pronto-socorro pediátrico hospitalar por meio de práticas do Lean Healthcare

Abstract

Healthcare services have a high degree of complexity in their processes, requiring precision and agility. Lack of process standardization, resource scarcity, and inadequate management practices impair the quality of patient care. Hospital management practices focus heavily on better operational outcomes, centered on waste elimination, leading to the implementation of Lean Healthcare in the hospital sector. In Brazil, this approach is more concentrated in the Southeast and South, leaving other regions deficient in continuous improvement practices. In this context, this study proposes the implementation of Lean healthcare practices, from the BPM perspective, in the pediatric emergency department of a public hospital located in the city of Paulo Afonso/BA. This case study utilizes documentary analysis, direct observation, and interviews, developing process modeling and Value Stream Mapping (VSM). The application and analysis of Lean tools identified three main categories of problems: technology, capacity, and layout. Improvements based on Lean principles such as continuous flow, error prevention and identification, and performance indicators were proposed, resulting in three main types of measures: implementation of an integrated system, changes in operational practices, and layout changes. Layout suggestions would reduce the distance traveled by life- threatening patients, potentially decreasing their length of stay when combined with other proposed changes. The results of this study can contribute to waste elimination and reduction in the time required for routine processes, thereby providing more humane, prompt, and efficient care.