Investigating the connections between health lean management and clinical risk management

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate connections and overlaps between health lean management (HLM) and clinical risk management (CRM) understanding whether and how these two approaches can be combined together to pursue efficiency and patient safety improvements simultaneously. Design/methodology/approach – A systematic literature review has been carried out. Searching in academic databases, papers that focus not only on HLM, but also on clinical errors and risk reduction, were included. The general characteristics of the selected papers were analysed and a content analysis was conducted. Findings – In most of the papers, pursing objectives of HLM and CRM and adopting tools and practices of both approaches, results of quality and, particularly, of safety improvements were obtained. A two-way arrow between HLM and CRM emerged but so far, none of the studies has been focused on the relationship between HLM and CRM. Originality/value – Results highlight an emerging research stream, with many useful theoretical and practical implications and opportunities for further research.