"Stock Up?" Really? For a Penny Increase?
Time to stock up on Forever stamps Sigh, first class postage has gone up from 41 cents to 42 cents. That really doesn’t impact me, since I mail maybe two or three things a month (thanks to online bill pay…
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All posts from Mark Graban’s LeanBlog.org, including podcasts, announcements, articles, and more.
Lean meets Drinking Water
By Jason Turgeon: This week is National Drinking Water Week! If that doesn’t excite you, think about the Lean implications of this dreadful story about the deaths of 80 children last month in South Africa resulting from a breakdown in…
"Real Lean," Volumes 1 and 2
I’ve had the opportunity to read Bob Emiliani’s two collections of essays on “Real Lean” and I’m long overdue on posting about them. I’m especially late considering since Volume Three is coming out in June. These books are particularly recommended…
"Just In Time Patients??"
Medical Leave — Offshore Medicine — Fast Company Interesting read here in the latest issue of Fast Company about a hospital in Thailand and one of the visionaries, Ruben Toral, who wants to globalize healthcare. The idea of patients flying…
Nursing Shortage Easing?
Slowdown’s Side Effect: More Nurses – WSJ.com: Not a Lean article, but a major issue for hospitals is a shortage of nurses. With the economy in its current condition, more nurses are returning to work. There’s still a need for…
The Power of Asking "Why?"
reportonbusiness.com: Asking ‘why’ again and again is harder than you think, but it works It’s kind of neat to see a column about the “5 whys” method in a general business publication (link above). The consultant and professor in the…
A Pharmacy’s Long Turnaround Time?
Star-Telegram.com: | 05/06/2008 | LETTERS OK, so we’re piling on JPS Hospital at this point.. but this letter to the editor caught my eye today: One glaring omission in your series was failure to critique the pharmacy. It’s one of…
"Loving Lean" is Way Better Than "Lean and Mean"
Health Care: Loving Lean — Seattle Business Monthly It’s so nice to see a Lean overview article, yet alone Lean healthcare, that doesn’t use the “Lean and Mean” cliche in the headline. This is a story from Seattle that discusses…
Paying for Hospital Activity
B.C. considers radical shift in hospital funding, based on patients treated This is something that I just recently learned about the Canadian health system — you don’t get paid more (as a hospital) for treating more patients. That’s really shocking,…
Obvious Incentives for Coverups
The Associated Press: FAA tries again to fix cover-up of air safety errors: It’s always disturbing to hear about cover ups and systemic problems related to aviation safety, whether it’s airplane maintenance or air traffic control. In this case, it’s…
The Shift from Factories to Hospitals
Factories Fading, Hospitals Step In – WSJ It’s inevitable — as manufacturing jobs decline and our population ages, more people will shift from manufacturing jobs into healthcare. (Free version of article here) BANGOR, Maine — In this aging manufacturing region,…
Problems at JPS Hospital, Part 2
Star-Telegram.com: | 04/28/2008 | Trapped in a waiting game at JPS Update: For those who didn’t catch the update to Monday’s post, it was announced that the CEO will be leaving, with somewhat of a sliver parachute, I guess. The…
