Six Sigma in healthcare: lessons learned from a hospital

Six Sigma is a quality improvement approach aimed at optimising processes while reducing defects and costs. It has been developed and is widely used in industry and recently has been introduced, on a limited scale, in healthcare. In this article, we discuss the results of the implementation of Six Sigma at the Red Cross Hospital in Beverwijk, the Netherlands. From the initial start in 2002, up to now, 44 projects have been initiated and 21 projects are closed. Projects are initiated in various departments and disciplines. Co-workers on almost all levels within the organisation are being trained and have been provided with tools to perform projects that improve quality and reduce costs of healthcare delivery. The results show that the completed projects produced €1.2 million in annual savings. The expected total net annual savings of all running projects are €3 million.