Lean hospitals: a new challenge for facility designers

This article presents a literature review of a wide array of implementation studies of Lean healthcare practices, performed worldwide. Firstly, we review some fundamentals of Lean thinking. Second, we describe the continuous work improvement cycle along with some commonly used Lean tools. We then examine how the implementation of Lean practices has affected hospitals and their users. Furthermore, we review the encountered challenges and opportunities. Finally, we present process-and technology improvement ideas to address the urgent needs and critical shortcomings of current healthcare practices. Lean practices are becoming increasingly widespread in the healthcare industry. Readers new to them might like to investigate their applicability more deeply.