Richard Reice Published in Health Law360 and Employment Law360
"Increasing Quality With Six Sigma"

Richard Reice's article, "Increasing Quality With Six Sigma," was published February 18, 2010 in Health Law360 and Employment Law360. In his article, Richard discusses the impact of Six Sigma on the way hospitals and law firms do business. According to Richard, "An unintended but nevertheless critical benefit of Six Sigma is its potential to further the relationship between law firms and their health care clients because as both turn to Six Sigma to reduce errors and improve efficiency, they will come to share a common perception and methodology for managing legal matters."

He observes that institutions, patient care, litigations and transactions have grown large and complex and that dozens of practitioners influence the treatment given to patients or a legal matter. For this reason, the standards of quality care and the inefficiencies of yesterday are no longer acceptable today. He notes that both professions are under tremendous pressure to change and operate more efficiently while maintaining or improving their products. Richard points out that through "Lean Six Sigma, law firms and hospitals will approach legal matters in a more collective, holistic and efficient way, thereby cutting costs while increasing customer satisfaction."