Six Sigma In Managed Care

Assignment 6

Introduction

It is essential that health care leaders have the adequate knowledge and data tools available to make informed decisions within the health care industry. Overall, managed health care systems rely on the collection, analysis, and reporting of data to aide in decision making that will affect individuals participating in the managed health care system. Therefore, it is essential that informed decisions are made and the health care leaders are educated on the data reports. After all, one essential determinant of a health care organization's performance is its managerial competence (Stowe, Haefner, & Behling, 2010). Furthermore, the use of six sigma in health care organizations can improve the quality of care while
Therefore, managed health care systems rely on the collection and analyzing of data to make its decisions. As a result, if the data that is collected and analyzed does not fit the needs of the managed health care systems patients or its market then the managed health care system may not make efficient decisions when it is time to design the benefits plans and other health care services offered. Consequently, managed health care systems tend to manage the background duties in the health care marketplace and it needs accurate data to improve quality while having the potential to reduce costs. Furthermore, if managed care health systems implement the six sigma method than the organization has the ability to acknowledge any problem areas within its system. Overall, eliminating or reducing health care errors or variances impose significant challenges from a clinical and financial perspective (Lloyd & Holsenback, 2006). Unfortunately, it has been estimated that there are between 44,000 and 98,000 deaths every year that are attributable to some type of medical error (Lloyd & Holsenback, 2006). As a result, the economic impact of medical errors ranges from $17 to $29 billion in the United States (Lloyd & Holsenback, 2006). However, these are estimates from research conducted in 2002 by the Institute of Medicine therefore; these data estimates unfortunately may be significantly higher nowadays. Consequently, the use of six sigma has proven itself in the manufacturing industry where it was initially implemented and it has shown positive results in the health industry. As a result, the use of six sigma when making medical information decisions regarding a variety of health care issues will lower the medical process errors. After all, the medical industry including all types of health care providers are under extreme pressure and scrutiny to reduce