Abstract: Objective: To apply the lean management principles to patient discharge process and evaluate its influence on shortening the discharge time and enhancing daily discharge checkout rate between 10:00 and 12:00 in hospital. Methods: We first formulated the lean management team, surveyed the current status of the discharge process in targeted hospital, and identified the weak points during the process by following the Value Stream Mapping method. In addition, we employed the "five-why-strategy" to find out the underlying problems in the discharge process, and collaborated with clinical professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, etc.) to achieve consensus on standardized checkout procedures and to specify appropriate locations for take-home-medications, discharge record and other related materials. Results: The discharge time was shortened from 284 to 106 minutes after the lean management principles was applied into practice, and the checkout rate was increased from 13.3% to 53.6% before 10:00, and from 40% to 89.3% before 12:00 (P<0.05). Conclusion: Applying lean management principles to hospital discharge process can significantly reduce the time for discharge and enhance discharge efficiency.

Key words: lean management principles; discharge process; Value Stream Mapping; standardization