Jim Womack explains why real gemba walks–not management strolls–are essential for lean leadership, and why healthcare leaders must change behavior to improve systems and outcomes. In Episode #116 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast, Mark Graban talks with Jim Womack,…
Listen: Episode #110 is a chat with Dr. Jack Billi from the University of Michigan Health System and Medical School. Here, we talk about their lean work and how Dr. Billi works with physicians to engage them in lean, tying…
TL;DR: The New York Times showed that Lean healthcare isn’t about “factory medicine,” but about removing waste so clinicians can focus on patients. When grounded in respect for people and strong leadership, Lean improves quality, access, and cost–while misapplied versions…
Blogs or podcasts about lean healthcare or those that cover lean topics at least some of the time: Lean Blog – Healthcare Posts (Mark Graban) Lean Vets (Chip Ponsford, DVM and Mark Graban) Virginia Mason Blog (Virginia Mason Medical Center) Catalysis…
TL;DR: Patient safety leader Lucian Leape’s critique appears less about Lean itself and more about “L.A.M.E.”–Lean As Misguidedly Executed. True Lean in healthcare prioritizes patient safety, quality, and respect for people; when those are missing, the problem isn’t Lean–it’s how…
If you’ve searched for “Lean methodology,” you’ve probably seen definitions about waste reduction or efficiency. That’s part of it — but Lean is much more than that. It’s a leadership system for building better organizations. I’ve been studying and practicing…
Today’s post is an email written by Patrick M. Anderson, Executive Director of Chugachmiut, Inc., the Tribal consortium created to promote self-determination to the seven Native communities of the Chugach Region in Alaska. You might recall my two podcasts with…
In Pursuit of Elegance | My Own Tiger’s Tale What does Tiger Woods have to do with Lean Thinking and hospitals? Read on… Our good friend, Matthew May, met Tiger Woods at his health club in California back in 2001.…
We had some local Boston news about hospitals reducing infection rates, including dangerous blood stream infections that result from central lines. Several academic medical centers in Boston said the number of ICU patients contracting bloodstream infections had dropped by at…
Click for an intro to LeanBlog.org OK, so this isn’t strictly a standard work document, but this is an overview of the Lean Blog. I did update it on 7/19/05, though, in the spirit of continuous improvement. Updated 5 Updated…
Womack and Jones video on spread – Blog – ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value From John Toussaint’s blog, this video starts with a question about (I’m paraphrasing) how do you balance continuous innovation (in how “Lean” works in a hospital)…
This is an old story, from May, that I’ve meant to write about for a while. Peter Orszag, the Director of the Office of Management Budget wrote a piece in the WSJ about healthcare. He wrote: The good news is…
