Prioritizing lean management practices in public and private hospitals

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Operations Research
• Lean Management

Background:

• Healthcare waste is a significant challenge in hospital operations.
• Lean management principles offer strategies for waste reduction in healthcare.
• Prioritizing specific waste types is crucial for effective intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prioritize 21 types of healthcare wastes in public and private hospitals within the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
• To identify key areas for waste reduction strategies in UAE healthcare settings.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the analytical hierarchical process (AHP), a multi-criteria decision-making method.
• Decomposed seven healthcare wastes linked to lean management into detailed sub-criteria for analysis.

Main Results:

• Developed an AHP framework to rank 21 healthcare wastes in UAE public and private hospitals.
• Identified inventory waste as a primary concern in private healthcare systems.
• Determined over-processing waste as the most significant in public hospitals.

Conclusions:

• The AHP framework provides a reliable method for prioritizing healthcare waste reduction.
• Findings offer practical insights for implementing lean practices and optimizing value streams in healthcare organizations.
• This research contributes a validated framework for strategic waste management in the healthcare sector.