Sigma level performance of the innovated process in the imaging department at a Mexican health institute.

The National Institute of Respiratory Diseases is a third level public hospital in Mexico City, which in 2007 acquired an RIS-PACS to be implemented at its Imaging Department (ID), with the objective to enhance its service. This department attends an average of 3,500 patients per month developing different image modalities. The objective of this work was to determine the overall sigma level performance of four processes of the ID: reception, X-ray, computed tomography, and radiologist diagnosis, considering process analysis and innovation through Six Sigma methodology, measuring the innovation effectiveness by means of indicators and learning curves. Initially, a first measurement (M 1) of the original processes was determined; once 13 innovations were implemented in a pilot program, two more measurements were done, 15 days after (M 2) and 30 days after (M 3), in order to know the impact of the innovations in the ID processes. The initial sigma level of the ID before innovations was σ 1 = 2.0, which means that there were 36 patients per day with a process defect during their stay at the ID. In the two following measurements, σ 2 = 2.2 which means that there were 28 patients per day with a process defect, and σ 3 = 2.3 with 24 patients per day with a process defect. These results demonstrate that the percentage of performance enhancement between the original process and 15 days later was 23 % and 30 days later an enhancement of 15 %. In total, an overall enhancement of 38 % was obtained at the ID of the institute.