اتکا خدمات بهداشت و درمانی فنلاند به مدیریت: تجارب مدیران خدمات بهداشت و درمانی در یک واحد بهداشت و درمان The Finnish healthcare services lean management: Health services managers’ experiences in a special health care unit

Introduction Lean management is a potential way to develop management practices and strategies in the health-care environment in Finland. However, further research is necessary to find out how the Lean management model manifests itself in Finland and to develop the model for this particular national context. There have been studies on the Lean method’s effectiveness in terms of management and development work in the Finnish health-care environment. In addition, there is evidence that teamwork increased in Lean workplaces (Jorma et al., 2016). There are numerous research articles about Lean thinking and plenty of literature reviews. There is also research examining evidence of outcomes of using Lean by identifying the facilitating factors in Lean initiatives (Andersen et al., 2014). Research articles also exist which focus on dividing articles according to the area of application of Lean and various study purposes and criteria (Mazzocato et al., 2010; de Souza, 2009). In Finland, we only have a few research papers regarding knowledge and understanding of managerial experience using the Lean method. The aim of this research is to discuss health service managers’ experiences of management in a special health-care unit and their development efforts from the point of view of the Lean method. Additionally, the aim is to deepen the knowledge of the managers’ work and the nature of the Lean method development processes in the workplace. The research focuses on those aspects and results of the Lean method that are currently being used in health-care environments in Finland. Health care has its own special characteristics: the work is client-oriented, different professionals work together for the benefit of the client, financial resources may vary and be limited, and medical care is improving (Stenvall and Virtanen, 2012; Clarke, 2009). There are also increases in cooperation and networking (Morrow et al., 2007) between organizations and institutions to provide public health services, and health care is always overseen and controlled by some type of steering group. In the health-care services, management is defined as the management of employees working under a manager in a unit (Aarva, 2009). This research look at specialized health-care settings in Finland in which Lean method and management principles have been implemented and applied to the delivery of health care. Management is a relatively new concept in Finnish health, and it refers to overseeing daily operations in the workplace. A manager is responsible for the services provided to customers and is, in charge of the staff, as well as having responsibility for operating budget (Aarva, 2009). According to Virtanen and Stenvall (2010), a manager oversees daily operational activities of a health-care unit while taking into consideration the whole organization through interactions at various interfaces.