“When you use the Science [of flow management] properly, you get phenomenal results.” Donald Berwick, MD President and CEO
Institute for Healthcare Improvement
Boston Globe interview, January 25, 2005
“Our collaboration with the BU Management of Variability Program (now Institute for Healthcare Optimization) transformed the way we manage patient flow. The methodologies used in the collaboration provided a solid foundation for achieving continuous improvement in flow, operational efficiency and quality of care, resulting in unprecedented improvement in hospital-wide throughput, revenue, operating cost and capital cost avoidance.” James M. AndersonPresident and CEO
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
“Working with Dr. Eugene Litvak and his team from the Boston University Program for Management of Variability in Health Care Delivery, currently the Institute for Healthcare Optimization (IHO), has been a fascinating experience. They have already successfully implemented the methodology of variability and flow management in several hospitals in the US but we wanted to know whether it would work within a state-run service such as the NHS. Working with IHO to examine the data we collect highlighted several areas for improvement and re-design. It has also shown that we have much in common with US hospitals. It has been an interesting journey, adapting the IHO methodology to suit the way healthcare is organized and delivered in the UK. We have encountered some obstacles, but having completed the cardiac surgery prototype, we are now better placed to resolve future challenges.” Jane CollinsCEO
Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust
“The collaborative efforts between Palmetto Health Richland and Institute for Healthcare Optimization faculty continuing over the last few years have dramatically improved OR throughput at our hospital and will have a positive effect on patient flow throughout other areas within the facility including the ED. Dr. Litvak's team has helped us identify and correct the root cause (variability in patient flow) of many problems (ED holds, diversions, medical errors, prolonged lengths of stay etc.) that plague hospitals like ours.” Ellis Knight, MDSenior Vice President, Ambulatory Services
Palmetto Health System
“The hospital is committed to using a more scientific approach to management. 'Otherwise, we are squandering a huge, very expensive community resource,'... 'We are saying, 'This makes good business sense, and it make good sense for our patients.” John Chessare, MD VP and CMO
Boston Medical Center
OR Manager, Vol. 19, No 11, November 2003
“The power of flow management lies in making administrators think more analytically… The Alliance’s Cambridge Hospital used software developed by Litvak to predict patient numbers…to adjust employee schedules rather than scrambling to hire nurses on days when numbers jump, while cutting in half the number of patients transferred to other hospitals because of staff shortages… ‘Over time, you use fewer [temporary nurses] and overtime… so you achieve cost-savings that really do offset the higher levels of staffing.” Dennis KeefeCEO
Cambridge Health Alliance
“The learning process involved with understanding and managing variability was powerful but not overwhelming… solutions used by business were very transferable to the healthcare environment… Dr. Litvak’s commitment … [and] his understanding of issues affecting healthcare organizations … were extremely valuable. His recommendations enabled us to make a positive impact on daily operations very quickly.” Susan Leavitt GulloElliot Hospital | 
