Just an update for those who were following the progress of my book on “Lean Hospitals.” It’s done! I have submitted the manuscript to the publisher (Productivity Press, a division of Taylor & Francis).
UPDATE (7/9/08): The book is due to be out July 21, 2008. Visit www.leanhospitalsbook.com for more info and ordering information. Lean Blog readers can use a discount code. The code is 906GW and it’s good for a 15% off discount thru the Productivity Press website (www.productivitypress.com) until August 31. Direct link to purchase my book is here.
I’ll provide updates on the publication status as we go and when it will be available. The working title has been “Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Satisfaction,” although that is subject to change. Part of me hates the description of any organization as “Lean” since Lean is more of a journey than a destination… but “Hospitals That Are On the Never Ending Continuous Improvement Journey”isn’t real catchy. I do make the point in the book that nobody is never “Lean” as an end state, Lean describes the mindset and the methods.
I have a website for the book at www.leanhospitalsbook.com. I hope to build an online community around the book, with a discussion forum and other interactive features (any ideas you have about that would be appreciated). One problem with writing a book is that it is a large “batch” of information that is, by nature, many months out of date by the time the book is available for sale. I’m hoping to provide additional case studies and updates on the hospitals mentioned in the book.
The book is not intended as a detailed “how to” implementation guide. It is meant to be an overview that covers topics such as:
- Why do hospitals need Lean?
- What is Lean?
- Case examples that show how hospitals are successfully using Lean
- How to get started with Lean
There is as much focus on leadership, culture change, and the Lean mindset, so that Lean is not just presented as a toolkit.
Many thanks to those who asked about the book, provided encouragement, or reviewed some of the content.
As I wrote in the preface, it really has been an honor and a privilege to have the chance to write this type of book. Let’s hope it has a positive impact.
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About LeanBlog.org: Mark Graban is a consultant, author, and speaker in the “lean healthcare” methodology, focused on improving quality and patient safety, improving access, reducing costs, and fully engaging healthcare professionals. He is also the Chief Improvement Officer for KaiNexus.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Congrats on finishing your book. I am looking forward to read it.
I recently accepted a position in the healthcare industry (which is new for me) and I will be on the project team for bringing Lean to the hospital. Lean is also new to me although I am quickly grasping it. I used to do process reengineering where I used Lean concepts without knowing I was!
This blog has been a great resource and I hope (for selfish reasons) you get an active community for lean hospitals that I can learn from! The book will be a great resource as well.
Keep up the outstanding work.
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Thanks, I appreciate it!
One other comment I was going to make about being “done” is that one thing I’ve learned is that you’re never really “done” with a book… you just decided to quit working on it at some point!!
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Congrats, Mark. Based on what I’ve seen, I think your book will be a big success. We in healthcare can use as much material as we can get to help spread the word.
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You book sounds like a great addition to my Lean Library. We really need more books that deal with solid examples of using Lean in a non-automotive context.
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Congratulations on finishing the book!
I know what an accomplishment that is. If you need any reviewers, you know where to find me. I’d be proud to be associated with it!
-Andy
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Congratulations, Mark!
I come from software development and when reading your posts I always enjoy seeing the parallels between lean in software development and lean in hospitals.
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Mark, Congratulations!!! I look forward to reading your book; it is a much needed addition to the Lean landscape. I remember when I finished my book, what an great feeling it was. Celebrate! I agree with you on the “you’re never really done” comment.
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