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Application of lean methodology to frozen section workflow - An audit of present practices at a single large oncology
Anila Sharma1, Gurudutt Gupta1, Deepak Sharma1
1Department of Pathology, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research centre, New Delhi, India.
Aim:
We conducted a pilot study to analyze the frozen section workflow in the histopathology department and to construct a future state map using Lean management for a better efficiency.
Method:
We analyzed the current state of frozen section workflow in our department, from receipt of the specimen to delivery of slides to the pathologist to communication of report to the surgeon by using value-stream mapping and spaghetti diagram. Further, with the help of the fishbone diagram and Pareto's chart, root cause analysis was done, and a future state map was created with help of a spaghetti diagram to eliminate the non-value-added steps.
Results:
Our current value-stream map identified a total specimen processing time of 3393 min of which 2880 min were value-added, translating to a process cycle efficiency of 84.88 %. Also, with the help of tools of lean management we constructed a future state map to improve process cycle efficiency.
Conclusion:
In this study, we have attempted to use a few tools of lean management systems and suggested ways for continuous improvements that can be successfully implemented in histopathology laboratories.
