The application of the Lean Thinking philosophy in health sectors: an integrative review

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the existing scientific literature on the practical applications and implementations of Lean Thinking in institutions providing health services, in order to validate its efficiency in this segment, based on the analysis of the results achieved by these providers. Methods: The present study presents an integrative review addressing the implementation of Lean Thinking by health service providers, through the analysis of empirical studies. Results: From the evaluation of 71 scientific studies on the subject, the main tools of the Lean philosophy used by these institutions were found, as well as the high degree of efficiency obtained. However, it should be noted that in most of the applications studied, there was no implementation of the philosophy in the institution as a whole, but only in isolated sectors/departments. Final considerations: The study proves that this philosophy, in addition to being efficient, can be applied in any type of health structure, from small to large, both in more developed and developing countries, and at an extremely low cost, thus proving its applicability and universal relevance. It is noteworthy, however, that the topic still needs more attention from researchers and implementers.