I

n his new book, Essentials for the Improvement of Healthcare Using Lean & Six Sigma (CRC Press, 2010), author Diomidis H. Stamatis (aka Dean) presents solutions to the problems that plague the health care industry by providing case studies and explaining a multitude of quality tools and theories of Six Sigma and lean methodology.

Beginning with four critical issues in health care that drive costs and affect efficiency, Stamatis describes the directions for improvement in primary care, hospital care, and managed care. As shown in the book chapter summary below, a great portion of the book is devoted to the time-proven tools and methods for improvement so that health care professionals can understand quality processes and use them. Perhaps more important are the chapters regarding customer satisfaction and understanding the customer. After all, health care is a business—a business that has forgotten who it serves.

Book chapter summary

Most chapters include an introduction, summary, notes, and references.

 …