Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) builds quality into the design of products and services.  It has not been used widely outside engineering design functions.  In this research and application project, we applied DFSS methodology in two different, unrelated behavioral healthcare organizations in different geographic regions.  The WellPower used DFSS to design a process for integrating a behavioral health clinician within a physical health practice. The result was a project roadmap that focuses on establishing reliable and repeatable billing and reimbursement processes to launch and sustain integrated care partnerships.  In Pittsburgh, Wesley Spectrum Services and Allegheny HealthChoices, Inc., redesigned the outpatient intake process to positively affect access to care, consumer engagement, financial requirements, and staff skills. Research and qualitative analysis focused on continuous improvement that lead to learning and knowledge creation in organizations and found that teams learned in ways not previously used.  DFSS encouraged teams to learn about details of internal processes & possible problem areas.

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