Study on The Effect of Lean Management in Optimizing Nucleic Acid Testing Process in Outpatient Department

Objective — To explore the application effect of lean management in optimizing nucleic acid testing process in outpatient department. Methods — A lean management team was established, and the statistics were observed on the spot. The key problems were identified by drawing fish-bone map through the flow chart of nucleic acid test of patients and the time required for each node. The lean management method was adopted to optimize and continuously improve the process. The length of waiting time of nucleic acid test patients before and after the implementation of lean management was compared, and the satisfaction questionnaire was used to analyze the difference between the reference group and the observation group. Results — After the implementation of lean management, the waiting time for nucleic acid test was reduced from 45.50 minutes to 22.36 minutes, and patient satisfaction was improved from 88.6% to 92%. Conclusions — Lean management can not only shorten the time for patients to see a doctor, improve the speed of nucleic acid testing, and patients can be effectively distributed to minimize the risk of cross-infection, improve patients' medical experience, and improve patient satisfaction.