Improvements in the Manufacturing Industry Versus Health Care Industry

Improvements in the Manufacturing Industry versus Health Care Industry
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Improvements in the Manufacturing Industry versus Health Care Industry
As the healthcare industry adjusts to meet new legislation such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), there is a lot it can borrow from the manufacturing industry. A key challenge that has been facing the healthcare industry is escalating costs. Given that reducing costs is a key focus of the manufacturing industry, it is deducible that its improvement concepts can be relevant in the healthcare sector. Other significant concepts that manufacturing industry shares with the healthcare sector include quality improvement, elimination of waste, and focus on the customer. This paper uses the principles of lean manufacturing to argue that the improvements in the manufacturing industry are applicable in the healthcare industry despite some challenges.  
Lean philosophy is a major concept in manufacturing as it is attributed to the success of the Japanese automobile company, Toyota. According to Rotter, et al. (2017), the original aim of developing the lean system in the automobile industry was to reduce defects, minimize waste, and address the needs of customers. The five principles of lean philosophy include the identification of customer value, managing value stream, creating flow by eliminating waste, using pull mechanisms, and pursuing perception (Teich & Faddoul, 2013). Despite the inherent difference between the industries, these principles can be used to address some of the problems facing the healthcare industry by reducing costs, improving care and safety, and decreasing medical errors.
The first principle of lean philosophy, the identification of customer values, is particularly relevant in today’s patient-centered care. In the manufacturing context, a firm is supposed to define the value from the perspective of the consumer and then enhance the value through the addition of product or service features (Teich & Faddoul, 2013). In this sense, firms need to focus on creating value for their customer. In the healthcare sector, the concept is applicable in that healthcare organizations and professionals dedicate their focus on identifying and creating value for patients. The implementation of ACA saw an increased emphasis on patient-centered care primarily because of the associated incentives (Millenson & Macr, 2012). Through the legislation, the patients’ experience of care, engagement, and satisfaction are examined and published publicly. Therefore, healthcare organizations can identify and create value for patients in order to compete favorably in the industry because performances are published publicly. In this sense, the healthcare industry can borrow from lean philosophy and improve in patient-centered care.
In the management of value stream, firms in the manufacturing sector determine how processes in their facilities should be organized to deliver a smooth customer experience. Value stream maps are used to identify steps in a process that contributes to value and those that do not (Toussaint & Berry, 2013). With a visual map of every step in a process, a firm can identify the areas that need improvement. In th...