Introduction:

lean changes how the industry perceives mass production. This is the right time to implement changes in the services, and the healthcare sector, due to its importance, has been in the lead of this philosophy.

Objective:

to present the tendency of lean thinking as an initiative of change in the healthcare sector.

Methods:

a systematic search in the Google Scholar and ScienceDirect databases.

Results:

healthcare holds a special significance in modern-day societies. Lean has proven to be a pilar methodology for process improvement, with a sustained growth mainly in the healthcare sector. No bibliographical material was found in Cuba, nor in Spanish anywhere, that dealt with lean thinking, which evidences the need for further study on the subject. The principles of lean manufacturing are susceptible to be adapted to the services industry, particularly to the healthcare sector.

Conclusions:

Among the main findings of this paper is that lean service is increasing, and the healthcare sector is leading the research. Lean service does not have a definition, tools, a standard or a practical form of implementation, it is simply a combination that must be adapted to the specific situation. The main tools that can be applied to the services industry and to healthcare in particular are standardization and the value flow graphic.

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