Drivers to reduce waste
An IHI work group identified seven key drivers and their associated tactics aimed at identifying and eliminating half of all waste in the U.S. healthcare system by 2025.
The list below is interactive: Click the name to view more.
- Conduct regular review of safety and adverse events to identify opportunities to remove waste
- Identify bold goals for organizationwide strategic focus areas to reduce harm
- Create a culture focused on the relentless pursuit of operational waste
- Improve operational efficiency through redesign
- Link to organizational focus on creating joy in work
- Engage clinicians in activities to reduce unwarranted clinical variation
- Build linkages to the electronic health record for real-time “smart alerts”
- Equip and train frontline staff to use tools such as a lean, visual management system
- Engage front line staff in waste reduction idea generation such as huddles, “fresh eyes” and teams
- Use co-design to identify value-added vs. non-value-added steps in the care process
- Solicit ideas from patients and families on waste reduction opportunities
- Engage in care redesign across transitions of care
- Build in focus on waste reduction to test changes to the Triple Aim (better care, better health and lower cost)
- Incorporate waste reduction priorities in systemwide and cascaded strategic plans
- Create an organizationwide visual management system to monitor efforts and outcomes