ArticleHealth systems (Basingstoke, England)2022
Outcomes of managing healthcare services using the Theory of Constraints: A systematic review.
Article in Health systems (Basingstoke, England), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Towards a solution to the global healthcare crisis: using hierarchical decomposition and theory of constraints (TOC) to address the healthcare supply chain wicked problem.Health systems (Basingstoke, England) · 2025Article
- Bottleneck factors impacting nurses' workflow and the opportunity to prioritize improvement efforts: factor analysis.BMC nursing · 2024Article
- Consumer and provider perceptions of the specialist unit model of care: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2024Article
- Resilience of hospitals in an age of disruptions: a systematic literature review on resources and capabilities.Health systems (Basingstoke, England) · 2024Review
- Staff pooling in healthcare systems - results from a mixed-methods study.Health systems (Basingstoke, England) · 2024Article
- Achieving rapid and significant results in healthcare services by using the theory of constraints.Health systems (Basingstoke, England) · 2024Article
- Strategic planning of operating room session allocation using stability analysis.Health systems (Basingstoke, England) · 2023Article
- Application of job shop scheduling approach in green patient flow optimization using a hybrid swarm intelligence.Computers & industrial engineering · 2022Article
- Using the theory of constraints to create a paradigm shift in organisation performance at a large primary care provider practice.Health systems (Basingstoke, England) · 2022Article
- Identifying and Addressing the Underlying Core Problems in Healthcare Environments: An Illustration Using an Emergency Department Game.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Despite ever-increasing resources devoted to healthcare, lack of capacity and timeliness are still chronic problems worldwide. This systematic review aims to present an overview of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) implementations in healthcare services and their outcomes. We analysed 42 TOC implementations (15 full-text articles, 12 video proceedings, and 2 theses/disserations) from major scientific electronic databases and TOC International Certification Organization Conferences. All implementations reported positive outcomes, both tangible and intangible. The two main improvements reported by authors were in productivity (98%; n = 41) - more patients treated - and in the timeliness of care (83%; n = 35). Furthermore, the selected studies reported dramatic improvements: 50% mean reductions in patient waiting time; 38% reduction in patient length of stay; 43% mean increase in operating room productivity and 34% mean increase in throughput. TOC implementations attained positive results in all levels of the health and social care chain. Most TOC recommendations and changes showed almost immediate results and required little or no additional cost to implement. Evidence supports TOC as a promising solution for the chronic healthcare problem, improving quality and timeliness, both necessary conditions for providing effective healthcare.
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