Lean technologies as an integral part of measures to improve the quality of medical care on the example of a dental clinic

Objective. To assess the opportunities and efficiency of integration of lean production tools and methods into the practical activities of primary and specialized medical care on the example of multidisciplinary dental clinic «Dental-Lux» LLC, Saratov

Materials and methods. This study included the following stages: primary data collection by anonymous sociological survey using telecommunication devices (a phone or a tablet), placing the questionnaire on the clinic's website and at the reception desk; analyzing the data and making suggestions for improving the activity on the basis of these data; elimination of the shortcomings detected in the survey and implementation of the improvements into the daily practice; repeated patient survey (using the same method and the same questionnaire) with an assessment of patients’ satisfaction with the quality of dental care in Saratov. The authors conducted a survey of 128 residents of Saratov who receive dental care in the multidisciplinary dental clinic «Dental-Lux» LLC, Saratov («Dental-Lux» LLC). A specially designed questionnaire included questions about the respondents, as well as a block of questions concerning patients’ satisfaction with the process and quality of dental care at «Dental-Lux» LLC. For mathematical processing, the results of the study were initially entered into an electronic database; the analysis of the study results was carried out using the method of descriptive statistics.

Results. While carrying out the study, it was found out that the majority of the respondents were satisfied with the quality of dental care provided on an outpatient basis. This indicates the focus of the organization of specialized dental care in «Dental-Lux» LLC on the patients’ requirements and the desire to meet their needs. The research has shown that inefficient organization of the registration office work and making an appointment to the doctor contributed to the low degree of patients’ satisfaction significantly. The authors believe that, in order to solve the problem, it is necessary to optimize the work of the registration desk by introducing modern technologies and ensuring uniform distribution of responsibilities among the employees.

Conclusions. While conducting the study it was determined that the organization of medical care, including the non-state healthcare institutions, requires continuous improvements and changes. Identifying problem areas and working on them are key aspects in the improvement of treatment and diagnostic process organization. It is important to address each of the above factors individually in order to increase the level of patients’ satisfaction. A continuous internal audit and further correction of the identified problems in any medical organization will raise the level of satisfaction with medical care among the population.