Engineering Solutions to America's Healthcare Challenges

Engineering Solutions to America’s Healthcare Challenges covers the technologies, systems, and processes that are emerging in hospitals, clinics, community centers, universities, and the White House to repair healthcare in the United States. Focusing on the importance of individuals being proactive about their own state of health, it presents a systems approach to changing the way healthcare professionals do business and take care of their patients. Written by a leading government and private sector consultant with more than a decade of experience as an industrial engineer, the book features interviews with leading industry experts, both domestic and international. Describing how industrial engineering practices are shaping healthcare, it explains why systems thinking must be the foundation for every aspect of healthcare.The book presents proven Lean and Six Sigma tools that can help any healthcare organization begin making operational improvements that result in a better quality of care for patients—all while reducing and even eliminating the waste of time, money, and human resources. These solutions include implementing Six Sigma in emergency rooms, 5S in accounting for medical inventory, using Theory of Constraints to form a plan for shortening the length of stay in hospitals, how informatics are used to aggregate and benchmark sensitive data, and design of experiments to recruit and retain the best healthcare talent. The book illustrates the most common factors involved with successful Six Sigma projects in healthcare organizations and considers the implications of a rapidly growing medical tourism industry. It addresses the role of insurance on healthcare improvement and also previews some of the most fascinating technological advances currently in development. It also offers examples and analysis of The Institute of Medicine's six aims for healthcare: safety, effectiveness, efficiency, timeliness, family-centered focus, and equity.

Prevention and Personal AccountabilityCase Study in the Cost of Personal ChoiceThe Expert Is In: "The Number 1 Improvement: Teach Prevention and Wellness"Critical Q&ASystem SaysFollowing the Right LeaderWhen TOC Is Better Than TLCSafetyEffectivenessEfficiencyTimelinessA Different Strain of LeanFamily-Centered FocusEquitySix SigmaSix Sigma Cost BreakdownPicture of Six Sigma HealthDefine, Measure, Analyze, Improve, ControlDesign of ExperimentsYou’ve Paid for the Consultant, Now What?Technology and People Behind the MethodsCritical Q&ACare EthicsThe Language of CareCritical Q&AFrom the Exhibit Hall to Your BodyDealing with All the DataCritical Q&ATrading Hotel Rooms for Sick BedsLeft out by Mainstream Media?Opposing ViewsRegion Snapshot: CubaCritical Q&AInsured or Imagined?Medicaid and MedicareHow Engineers Can Help PatientsThe Expert Is InCritical Q&AThe Classroom: Where Medicine BeginsNew Faces of Medical EducationBench-to-Bedside ApproachEngineering MedicineExemplary PartnershipPut on Your Scrubs and Learn How to CommunicateStress Nature over PharmaCritical Q&AHealth Is the LawCritical Q&AStill in DevelopmentConclusion

Ryan Burge is an author and leading consultant for the private sector and government with more than a decade of experience as an industrial engineer, Certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) and change agent. Recognized nationwide as an innovative consultant focused on financial impact, supply chain management, risk analysis and corporate strategy, Burge has garnered meaningful results for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States military services, Department of Veterans Affairs, and global and Fortune 500 companies.A proponent of positive public awareness and supporting programs that foster the next generation of business leaders, Burge is an author of articles and books on quality improvement, health systems and executive leadership. His latest book, "Engineering Solutions to America's Healthcare Challenges", released in December 2013, covers the technologies, systems, and processes that are emerging in hospitals, clinics, community centers, universities, and the White House to repair healthcare in the United States. Focusing on the importance of individuals being proactive about their own state of health, it presents a systems approach to changing the way healthcare professionals do business and take care of their patients.He is a member of the Board of Visitors for the University of Oklahoma College of Engineering, and is also a member of the following organizations: American Society for Quality (ASQ), Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), and the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ).Burge holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Oklahoma, an M.S. in Engineering Management from the George Washington University, and an M.B.A. and M.A. in Government from the Johns Hopkins University. Burge resides in Alexandria, Va., and can be reached via his consulting firm at www.boulevardcg.com, or by email at ryan.burge@boulevardcg.com.