Maastricht University, Philips and Medtronic jointly created an executive course for hospital managers addressing the need to improve entrepreneurialism in health care. During the course, the best Lean Sigma practices from the industry will be shared - a globally proven concept for translating strategy into concrete results with the aim of improving organizations in the longer term. Using Lean Sigma practices in the hospital environment is expected to improve the quality of patient care, increase efficiency and reduce costs within hospitals.
The executive course, which takes place in Lausanne, Switzerland, from 14-18 November 2011, is the first executive course in its kind jointly created by a medical university and the medical industry. Main themes in the course are health care trends and developments in Europe, their implications for the management of care processes, Lean Sigma, patient safety, change management and value creation. The course will be conducted by senior lecturers from Virginia Mason Institute (Seattle, WA, USA), Maastricht University, Eurocontrol, Medtronic and Philips.
Prof. Dr. Frits van Merode, Maastricht University Medical Centre: "Rising costs, measures taken by governments and growing expectations from patients are putting a lot of pressure on hospital management. For managers of European hospitals, these are difficult times. They need to critically assess the quality and costs of their processes for care delivery and engage in innovation. Practice shows that Lean Sigma enables hospitals to get prepared for the rising tide where efficiency and quality of care should go hand in hand."
Dr. Eric Silfen, Chief Medical Officer Philips Healthcare: "We believe co-creation initiatives by key players in health care will be essential in finding solutions for the current challenges in health care. With more than hundred years of experience in global businesses that focus on innovation, Philips has a large amount of knowledge to share which could help hospital managers to improve both quality and efficiency in their hospitals. For example, by analyzing working methods in hospitals, utilization of equipment can be optimized and waiting times for patients can be reduced. This executive course really represents a significant learning opportunity for hospital management and industry which in the end will have a positive effect on quality and patient satisfaction in hospitals."
Richard Jansen, Director at Medtronic: "Medtronic has adopted Lean and Six Sigma management methodology within its organization more than a decade ago. During this period, we have become the largest and leading medical device company in the world: every four seconds, somewhere in the world, a person's life is saved or improved by a Medtronic product or therapy. In the last decade, we internally realized cost savings of hundreds of millions of dollars through continuously improving our internal processes and were recently named one of the fifty most innovative companies in the world by MIT's Technology Review. Medtronic is convinced of the power of Lean & Six Sigma management methodology. We strongly believe that when hospitals and industry work together on sharing best practices and jointly work on process improvement initiatives, this will return great results. We support this executive learning course, because we believe it will enable participants to start designing care processes in such a way that they can treat more patients, in a better way, requiring less budget. To demonstrate our commitment to operational excellence in healthcare, we have made funds available to allow five students to apply for free scholarships for this course."
For more information about the executive course: www.leansigma-healthcare.com. More information about Philips education services: www.philips.com/healthcareeducation
Related news articles:
- Philips Healthcare's Profile
About Maastricht University
Maastricht University (UM), the most international university in the Netherlands, stands out for its innovative approach to learning and international outlook. With 14,500 students and 3,500 members of staff, UM offers a wide choice of academic programmes, all of which are designed to bring out the best in its students.
About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people's lives through timely innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of "sense and simplicity". Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs over 120,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 22.3 billion in 2010, the company is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare.
About Medtronic
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), headquartered in Minneapolis, is the global leader in medical technology - alleviating pain, restoring health, and extending life for millions of people with chronic conditions around the world. Its European headquarters are located in Tolochenaz, Switzerland, and the company employs around 40,000 people worldwide in more than 120 countries. At Medtronic, we're committed to Innovating for life by pushing the boundaries of medical technology and changing the way the world treats chronic disease. For this purpose, Medtronic develops and manufactures a wide range of products and therapies with emphasis on providing a complete continuum of care to diagnose, prevent and monitor chronic conditions, including cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders, diabetes, spinal conditions and many more. Each year, Medtronic therapies help more than seven million people around the world.