The continuous improvement program at the Florida International University Student Health Clinic has focused on improving patient satisfaction and operational efficiencies. A recent project in the Student Health Clinics was approached with a systematic review of available data and creation of flow charts to ensure understanding of the basic processes in the clinic. Customer surveys indicated that waiting time in the student clinic was the top complaint impacting customer satisfaction. Detailed data collection was then performed to identify sources of waste, specifically customer waiting time, within a modified value stream mapping framework. Clinic staff and healthcare providers then performed root cause analysis of problem areas and recommended actions for improvement. The challenges and lessons learned in addressing the waiting time issue in a dynamic, complex health care environment with limited resources is the focus of this paper.
