Introduction:

Efficient inventory management is a challenge for Hospital Pharmacy Services (HPS). Positive results have been reported in the improvement of hospital processes using the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology. This work aims to implement the LSS methodology to improve the performance of three processes that influence the inventory of the HPS by 70% and reach a minimum of 90% of correct stocks.

Methods:

The study was carried out at the HPS of the Instituto Modelo de Cardiología Privado S.R.L. DMAIC methodology (define, measure, analyse, improve, control) was applied in the receiving process (RP), the unit dose daily drug distribution system (UDDDDS) and the supply distribution to hospital services process (SDHSP). Three periods were defined: initial (08/18-09/18) to calculate the base performance measured in number of defects/cycle, implementation (10/18-12/18) to apply improvements, and consolidation (01/19-03/19) to evaluate consistency over time. The inventory of the SPH was checked monthly and the stability and capacity of each process was monitored with statistical control techniques.

Results:

Comparing the initial period vs. consolidation the defects decreased: RP from 0.135 defects/reception to 0.033 defects/reception, UDDDDS from 0.064 defects/patient to 0.008 defects/patient and SDHSP from 1.294 defects/order to 0.044 defects/order respectively. In the consolidation period 95.95% of stocks were correct vs. 63.42% of the diagnostic period.

Conclusion:

The implementation of LSS in an HPS efficient the stock management and reduced errors in the processes of RP, UDDDDS and SDHSP, proving to be a very useful tool for health care organizations.

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