Glossary
The terms behind operational excellence in eye care, defined clearly and consistently.
The end-to-end process of planning, designing, and operating an ophthalmic ambulatory surgery center — from feasibility and facility design through staffing, licensing, and steady-state operations.
ASC Development for OphthalmologyA facility where surgery is performed and the patient is discharged the same day. In ophthalmology, ASCs are used primarily for cataract and other high-volume, low-acuity procedures.
The movement of surgical cases through an operating room and the surrounding perioperative process. Smooth case flow maximizes daily case volume without adding rooms or staff.
The application of Lean Six Sigma to clinical care delivery, combining Lean's focus on speed and flow with Six Sigma's focus on reducing variation and defects. In ophthalmology, it is used to make care both faster and more reliable.
What Is Clinical Lean Six Sigma?Certified Ophthalmic Lean Six Sigma Professional — the certification that trains ophthalmic professionals to lead process improvement projects within their own practice.
Explore COLSSP CertificationThe time required to complete one task or process step, from start to finish. Reducing cycle time is a core goal of flow improvement in an eye clinic.
Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control — the five-phase cycle used to structure a Lean Six Sigma improvement project from problem definition through sustained results.
The percentage of tasks or tests completed correctly the first time, without rework. In diagnostic testing, first-time-right is a direct measure of quality and available capacity.
A structured visit to where the work actually happens, to observe it directly. In an eye clinic, a Gemba walk follows a patient's journey to expose waste, workarounds, and friction.
How to Conduct an Ophthalmology Gemba WalkAn operating model in which an eye care organization designs its systems, culture, and daily habits to deliver consistent, safe, high-quality care at scale — rather than depending on individual heroics.
What Is High Reliability Ophthalmology?A short, structured daily or weekly stand-up where a team reviews performance, surfaces obstacles, and assigns actions, converting measurement into accountability.
The application of Lean thinking — removing waste and creating flow — to the specific workflows of an eye care practice. It treats intake, pretesting, imaging, refraction, the physician exam, and checkout as one continuous value stream.
What Is Lean Ophthalmology?Distributing demand evenly across a schedule so that capacity matches workload hour by hour, reducing the peaks and idle periods that create waits and overtime.
The deliberate development of ophthalmic clinical talent — structured onboarding, competency-based training, certification, and defined career pathways — as a strategy for both performance and retention.
Career Pathways in OphthalmologyThe structured, repeatable practice of identifying and removing waste and variation from eye care workflows. The PACT framework uses six instruments: Project Charter, Current-State Mapping, Standard Work, Process Report Card, Huddle System, and Reliability Tracking.
The Process Improvement FrameworkThe time between one surgical case leaving an operating room and the next case entering it. In ophthalmic surgery, turnover time is the single largest lever on daily case volume.
Reducing OR Turnover Time in OphthalmologyA single scorecard tracking the key metrics of a process — wait time, cycle time, throughput, and defect rate — so a team can see at a glance whether performance is improving or drifting.
Work that must be repeated because it was not done right the first time — for example, a retaken image or a redone measurement. Rework consumes capacity and is a hidden quality cost.
The Hidden Cost of Diagnostic Testing ReworkThe documented, best-known way to perform a task, written for the person who does it. Standard work makes quality independent of who is working and provides the baseline for improvement.
Standard Work in OphthalmologyThe complete sequence of steps — value-adding and non-value-adding — required to move a patient from arrival to a completed visit. Mapping the value stream reveals where time is lost.