Using Lean Six Sigma to Improve the Medical Malpractice Reporting Decision Process in the U.S. Army Medical Command

Abstract

By the Department of Defense Directive, the Army Surgeon General should determine, within 180 days of payment notification, whether to report an involved Health Care Provider (HCP) to the National Practitioner Data Bank. For malpractice cases identified 1 Jan 05 -23 Dec 08 that required his decision, the Surgeon General did not meet that 180 day standard in any of the 59 available cases. The staff officer responsible for the recommendation to report a HCP sponsored a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt project to analyze the medical malpractice decision process and suggest improvements. During the analyze phase of the DMAIC methodology, the team learned of a legal problem that would prevent the full analysis of the process. The author presents the abbreviated analysis and recommendations that resulted.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 24, 2009
Accession Number
AD1200177

Entities

People

  • Robert B. Wenzel

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Department Of Defense
  • Directives
  • Health Care
  • Health Care Management
  • Health Services
  • Medical Malpractice
  • Standards

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Criminal Law
  • Mental Health of Military Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Risk Factors, Prevalence, Symptoms, and Treatment.
  • Organizational Process Management (OPM).