OCT scanner

Developed in Japan, the Kaizen method is making small, simple and concrete changes to everyday practices to boost efficiency at work. The approach has been applied successfully at HMR’s outpatient ophthalmology clinic. “The clinic, which specializes in retinal conditions and their treatment, is very busy,” said Lucie Thériault, acting head of the unit. “Around 850 of the patients who visit the clinic suffer from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), for which they need monthly intraocular injections to slow the disease’s progression,” she explained.

Since 2011, the number of treatments performed annually has increased 57% from 6,800 to 10,700. While the clinic’s patients get the treatment they need, their visits nonetheless take time. “We held a Kaizen in March 2014 in order to cut the length of their visits by half,” said Ms. Thériault.

And the team succeeded! By creating a retina task force to accompany patients throughout the entire process, the clinic was able to reduce the length of each visit from eight hours to around four. For patients, that means less stress and less waiting.

Even though the services and equipment have been consolidated, a second OCT scanner is still needed, as the first one is overused.

To reach our next objective—a wait time of around an hour and a half—we are calling on the generosity of donors to fund the purchase of a second OCT scanner at a cost of $90,000,” said Ms. Thériault.