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Cited by 31Healthcare Quality and ManagementQuality and Supply ManagementHealthcare Operations and Scheduling Optimization

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 10 of the 10 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Adaptation of Lean Six Sigma Methodologies for the Evaluation of Veterans Choice Program at 3 Urban Veterans Affairs Medical Centers

Ball, Sherry L., Stevenson, Lauren D., Ladebue, Amy C., McCreight, Marina S., Lawrence, Emily C., Oestreich, Taryn, Lambert-Kerzner, Anne C.·2017·Medical Care
DOI 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000721
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Abstract

Objective: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is adapting to meet the changing needs of our Veterans. VHA leaders are promoting quality improvement strategies including Lean Six Sigma (LSS). This study used LSS tools to evaluate the Veterans Choice Program (VCP), a program that aims to improve access to health care services for eligible Veterans by expanding health care options to non-VHA providers. Research Design: LSS was utilized to assess the current process and efficiency patterns of the VCP at 3 VHA Medical Centers. LSS techniques were used to assess data obtained through semistructured interviews with Veterans, staff, and providers to describe and evaluate the VCP process by identifying wastes and defects. Results: The LSS methodology facilitated the process of targeting priorities for improvement and constructing suggestions to close identified gaps and inefficiencies. Identified key process wastes included inefficient exchange of clinical information between stakeholders in and outside of the VHA; poor dissemination of VCP programmatic information; shortages of VCP-participating providers; duplication of appointments; declines in care coordination; and lack of program adaptability to local processes. Recommendations for improvement were formulated using LSS. Conclusions: This evaluation illustrates how LSS can be utilized to assess a nationally mandated health care program. By focusing on stakeholder, staff, and Veteran perspectives, process defects in the VCP were identified and improvement recommendations were made. However, the current LSS language used is not intuitive in health care and similar applications of LSS may consider using new language and goals adapted specifically for health care.

Overview

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Crossref · 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000721

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Hagedorn, 2006, Lessons learned about implementing research evidence into clinical practice: experiences from VA QUERI, J Gen Intern Med, 21, S21

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Metadata

Authors
Ball, S. L., Stevenson, L. D., Ladebue, A. C., McCreight, M. S., Lawrence, E. C., Oestreich, T., & Lambert-Kerzner, A. C.
Affiliations
  • Veterans Health Administration (US)
  • Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center (US)
  • Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH
Corresponding author
  • Ball, Sherry L.
  • Stevenson, Lauren D.
ORCID
Venue
Medical Care
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Published
2017-07
Volume
55
Issue
Suppl 1
Pages
S76-S83
ISSN
0025-7079 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1097/mlr.0000000000000721
OpenAlex
W2607374001
Cited by
31
References
10
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1
FWCI
2.63
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Medical Care (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Healthcare Quality and Management
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management Information Systems › Quality and Supply Management
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Healthcare Operations and Scheduling Optimization
Keywords
Lean Six Sigma, Veterans Choice Program, Veterans Health Administration, quality improvement, health care access, process waste, care coordination, clinical information exchange, program evaluation
MeSH terms
Choice Behavior, Hospitals, Urban, Hospitals, Veterans, United States, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Program Evaluation, Total Quality Management, Quality Improvement

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Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.

Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).

Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.