The goal of the Angyaq Quality System (AQS) is to increase the patient and employee experience by engaging employees in improving quality. Most people agree this is a worthwhile endeavor and can see how the AQS system can help us on our mission: Working together to achieve excellent health.

“But why are there so many new words?!” 

We hear you! The vocabulary around AQS can be daunting. It can sometimes feel like learning a new language.

The reason AQS introduces new language is because AQS systems (based on Lean principles originated by Toyota and widely adopted in healthcare) are different from the traditional ways of doing business. These new words describe processes and events that simply don’t exist outside of an organization embracing Lean principles. 

“This new language helps to stimulate the thinking of people and reinforce the change that is happening, challenging the existing paradigms and breaking the status quo,” explains one expert.

Most people will pick up new terms along the way. However, to help, we will be highlighting a new word each month.

***

April’s word is Angyaq.

“Angyaq” is the Yup’ik word for “boat.” We chose to name our quality system the Angyaq Quality System because the angyaq is the vessel that carries us on our river towards excellence that aligns with our corporate Napartet Strategic plan.

Used in a sentence: My team used the processes of the Angyaq Quality System to improve our workflow.