Case Study: Via Christi Health improves patient throughput analysis with Minitab

Lean and Six Sigma Efforts at Via Christi Health Bringing Safe, High-Quality Care

Via Christi Health, the largest healthcare provider in Kansas, launched a Center for Clinical Excellence to improve efficiency and patient safety across its hospitals. As patient volumes grew, the organization needed a better way to evaluate whether changes in emergency department processes were truly improving throughput and consistency. Via Christi Health used Minitab Statistical Software to analyze patient flow data and assess the impact of process changes.

Minitab helped Via Christi Health compare before-and-after throughput times using I-MR charts, histograms, boxplots, interaction plots, and descriptive statistics. The analysis showed that some areas had slight improvement while others declined, with no statistically significant difference overall, which helped the team rethink its improvement approach and focus on better-targeted changes. Based on further analysis, Via Christi recommended adjusting cleaning crew shifts to better match peak patient flow, helping reduce room downtime and improve operational efficiency.

Via Christi Health

Rob Dreiling

Process Improvement Specialist