Aplicação de ferramentas da engenharia de produção na otimização do processo de alta hospitalar: um estudo de caso em um hospital oncológico

Abstract

The increase in the length of stay in hospital beds compromises the operational efficiency of healthcare institutions, raises care-related costs, and limits service capacity, directly impacting the quality of care provided to patients. In this scenario, the application of quality management principles and Statistical Process Control (SPC) can contribute to the systematic analysis of hospital processes, enabling the identification of sources of variability and the proposal of improvements aimed at optimizing care and operational flows, ensuring more agile, safe, and efficient services centered on patients’ needs. Thus, this study has a propositional nature and aims to suggest improvements focused on reducing patients’ length of stay in hospital beds, grounded in quality management principles, with emphasis on the application of Statistical Process Control. It highlights the importance of identifying the causes responsible for bottlenecks in hospital flow through the use of statistical techniques to monitor, control, and stabilize processes, thereby supporting the proposal of continuous improvement actions, promoting greater efficiency in care delivery and the optimization of available resources. Furthermore, the importance of data-driven decision-making based on reliable and consistent information is emphasized, underscoring the role of Statistical Process Control (SPC) as an analytical support tool for hospital management. The proper application of SPC techniques enables continuous monitoring of variability in care processes, the identification of deviations, and intervention in special causes, supporting more accurate and timely decisions. As a result of these data-oriented interventions, a potential reduction of approximately 65.2% in patients’ length of stay in hospital beds is estimated, promoting higher bed turnover and reducing the average occupancy time per patient to approximately 34.8%. These gains contribute to mitigating financial losses, improving patient well-being, and strengthening excellence in hospital care and healthcare management.