Utilizing integrated facility design to improve the quality of a pediatric ambulatory surgery center.

Aim The aim was to use Integrated Facility Design (IFD) to design a surgery center that enhances the delivery of health care by developing processes that provide highly efficient patient, family, and provider flows while adding value and utilizing costly resources effectively. Background Integrated Facility Design is an adaptation of the Toyota 3P (Production, Preparation, Process) Program. The goal of IFD is to accelerate development time and lower start-up costs. Results The use of IFD produced a savings of $30million in project costs and enabled a completion date 3.5months ahead of schedule. The designed patient flow processes resulted in dramatic improvements in patient, family, and provider throughput. Conclusions The use of IFD in the design of a pediatric ambulatory clinic and surgery resulted in significant cost savings and improved clinical efficiency.