Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Volume 20, Issue 2, March 2015.
Purpose To explore if actions used at a hospital to manage a variable acute patient flow can be categorised using the concepts of lean, agile and leagile. Design/methodology/approach Empirical evidence from a university hospital was gathered by interviews, internal documents, shadowing and participation in meetings. Identified actions used at both hospital and departmental level are categorised as lean or agile, while combinations of actions are compared with different leagile approaches. Findings Actions from every lean and agile category derived from literature are used at the hospital, however in varying extent. Many agile actions are reactive, indicating a lack of proactive measures. Actions that directly manage external variation are also few in numbers. Leagile approaches of all three combinations derived from literature are also used at the hospital. Research limitations/implications Since a single case study is used empirical generalization to other hospitals cannot be deduced. Future research assessing the appropriateness of different actions for managing a variable acute patient flow is encouraged. Practical implications The use of actions within both lean and agile categories indicate the possibility of combining these process strategies in hospitals, and not only focusing on implementing lean. By cleverly combining lean and agile actions, leagile approaches can be formed. Originality/value The use of lean in healthcare has been a topic of research, while the use of agile has been sparsely research, as well as the combination of the two.
Purpose To explore if actions used at a hospital to manage a variable acute patient flow can be categorised using the concepts of lean, agile and leagile. Design/methodology/approach Empirical evidence from a university hospital was gathered by interviews, internal documents, shadowing and participation in meetings. Identified actions used at both hospital and departmental level are categorised as lean or agile, while combinations of actions are compared with different leagile approaches. Findings Actions from every lean and agile category derived from literature are used at the hospital, however in varying extent. Many agile actions are reactive, indicating a lack of proactive measures. Actions that directly manage external variation are also few in numbers. Leagile approaches of all three combinations derived from literature are also used at the hospital. Research limitations/implications Since a single case study is used empirical generalization to other hospitals cannot be deduced. Future research assessing the appropriateness of different actions for managing a variable acute patient flow is encouraged. Practical implications The use of actions within both lean and agile categories indicate the possibility of combining these process strategies in hospitals, and not only focusing on implementing lean. By cleverly combining lean and agile actions, leagile approaches can be formed. Originality/value The use of lean in healthcare has been a topic of research, while the use of agile has been sparsely research, as well as the combination of the two.
