A presentation given by the University at Buffalo’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences highlighted the efforts of local physician groups to improve the accuracy of their discharge instructions using an approach to business management known as Six Sigma.  The strategy seeks to streamline business operations  by identifying and removing defects.  For the purposes of this study, the definition of a defect was a deficiency in the discharge instructions given to patients.      

During the analysis phase of this study, Aurora Hospitalist Group had the highest compliance rate when compared alongside other physician groups who had seen multiple patients during the research period.  

AHG’s compliance rate of 90% was well above the 80% target rate set by the research  group
and even  higher  than  the  72% average among all physician groups.  Aurora Hospitalist Group was among the largest Hospitalist groups to have been included in the study.  The research group found that the high level of uniformity in documenting procedures contributed to the impressive performance of AHG.

As the course of Hospital Medicine continues to develop, Six Sigma promises to identify flaws in the fledgling model, making the work of Hospitalists more efficient.