Factors for assessing performance of lean concept application in hospital outpatient department

This research study focused on an analysis of the critical factors employed when assessing the performance of Lean thinking in hospital outpatients departments (OPD), using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique. The study began by identifying those potential factors to be used in the assessment based on a review of the previous studies, the Hospital Accreditation, Joint Commission International Accreditation Standards, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, and SERVQUAL standards. Those potential factors were then classified based on four Balanced Scorecard perspectives: financial, customer, internal processes, and learning and growth, so as to establish a research framework. A questionnaire was developed and used to prioritize these potential factors, divided into five sections, as follows: (1) primary data on the hospitals, (2) primary data on the respondents, (3) details of the potential factors and definitions of relevant terms, (4) a comparison of the factors in accordance with AHP, and (5) recommendations. The questionnaire consisted of 234 questions and was tested for validity by experts prior to being distributed to a sample group, one comprised of executives, supervisors and operating officers across three hospitals in Thailand. There were a total of eight respondents. The data from the questionnaires was analyzed using AHP to determine each factor weight. Then, Pareto analysis was used to prioritize and select those factors critical to the lean performance assessment. As a result, the research identified a total of 31 factors deemed critical in the assessment, all of which could be developed as an index or as guidelines to be used in the study´s assessment of lean thinking, as applied at hospital OPD.