SixSigma Quality Healthcare ...

H. Edward Hanway, chairman and chief executive officer of CIGNA Corporation. seeks quality health and healthcare as a collaborative effort for employers, employees, health care providers and insurers. ...

... "In a keynote address delivered last week at the Global Six Sigma Summit in Las Vegas, NV, Hanway said, it's not a stretch to suggest that what happens at the micro level in the health care industry has an impact -- for better or worse -- of macro proportions. Refocusing on quality: Hanway called on the health care industry to stop focusing exclusively on costs, asserting that improving quality will actually reduce costs. As proof, he pointed to CIGNA's experience with continuous quality improvement, as engendered by Six Sigma principles. Since implementing Six Sigma and other quality-centered methodologies corporate-wide in 2002, CIGNA has realized annualized savings of $100 million, by significantly improving operations against a variety of metrics. At the same time, the quality of care and services delivered to CIGNA's members has been ranked at the top of the industry by independent organizations " ...

SixSigma Quality Healthcare: Via CIGNA: CIGNA CEO Links Health Care Quality to Nation's Economic Health: Says improving quality leads to better health and productivity, while reducing costs ...