Integration of a Lean Daily Management System into an Antimicrobial Stewardship Program

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Clinical Pharmacy
• Quality Improvement

Background:

• Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) face challenges due to increasing demands and limited resources for efficient operations.
• Effective resource management and clear guidance are crucial for advancing stewardship initiatives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement a Lean Readiness and Metrics Board (RMB) within an ASP to enhance team accountability and satisfaction.
• To develop and evaluate shared metrics focusing on quality, people, delivery, safety, and stewardship to assess ASP productivity.

Main Methods:

• A Lean Readiness and Metrics Board (RMB) was integrated into the ASP, replacing monthly meetings with weekly 15-minute huddles.
• ASP team survey data were analyzed for feedback on Lean integration, communication, and productivity.
• Five shared metrics were developed and used to evaluate the impact of targeted projects on ASP productivity.

Main Results:

• Weekly huddles at the RMB achieved 88% participation, improving team communication and satisfaction with Lean integration.
• Metric utilization led to enhanced productivity, with reduced scheduling conflicts and a decrease in ASP intervention disagreement rates (37.0% to 25.6%).
• The ASP successfully educated an average of 79 learners per month, demonstrating improved 'Delivery' metric performance.

Conclusions:

• Weekly huddles utilizing the RMB significantly improved communication, team accountability, and visual tracking of program progress.
• The RMB fosters institutional commitment, and Lean methodologies offer a promising framework for evaluating and enhancing ASP productivity.