TL;DR: Dr. John Toussaint says healthcare culture won’t change until leaders do–moving from “white coat leadership” (all-knowing, autocratic, blaming) to Lean leadership as facilitator, teacher, and student who learns improvement by doing it. Mark’s note (2026): I originally shared this…
Scroll down for how to subscribe, transcript, and more My guest for this bonus episode of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is Gregory H. Jacobson, M.D., a co-founder and the CEO of KaiNexus. Greg, also a practicing emergency medicine physician…
TL;DR: Healthcare excellence depends on psychological safety and strong problem-solving. When clinicians and staff feel safe to speak up about mistakes and risks, organizations learn faster, improve patient safety, and deliver better outcomes. Thanks to my friends at Catalysis for…
I know I’m not alone in being frustrated by something as simple — seemingly simple — as transferring electronic medical records from one physician’s office to another. I do have a more unusual situation, and forgive me if this is…
Scroll down for video, how to subscribe, video, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #417 of the Lean Blog Interviews Podcast is John W. Kenagy, MD, MPA, ScD, FACS, of his firm Kenagy & Associates based in Washington state.…
As part of my relocation to California, I need to establish a relationship with an ophthalmologist here, as I have had early-onset glaucoma for about ten years (thanks to something called “pigment dispersion syndrome” — fun!). When making an appointment…
Joining me again for Episode #369 of the podcast is Dr. Rachel Mandel, a self-described “healthcare whisperer” and Washington D.C.-based consultant for healthcare organizations. She has her own practice and also works as a Senior Healthcare Advisor for Operational Performance…
Joining me for Episode #367 of the podcast is Dr. Rachel Mandel, a self-described “healthcare whisperer” and Washington D.C.-based consultant for healthcare organizations. She has her own practice and also works as a Senior Healthcare Advisor for Operational Performance Solutions,…
tl;dr: When doctors and nurses are afraid to speak up about safety risks, problems stay hidden and patients are harmed. Real cases from the UK show how fear, retaliation, and leadership behavior undermine patient safety, while true improvement requires psychological…
Joining me for Episode #352 of the podcast is Frederick Southwick, M.D. He is a Professor of Medicine and is also Director of Patient Care Quality and Safety in the Division of Hospitalist Medicine at the University of Florida in…
Here is an article that caught my eye recently, from HBR: “How One Health System Overcame Resistance to a Surgical Checklist“ Seeing the word “resistance” always makes me wonder if the health system in the article was blaming surgeons (or…
Back in 2013, I wrote a LinkedIn article (orread on Medium) about how the “Doctors: Best of 2013” list in a San Antonio magazine had a disclaimer that warned: “S.A. Doctors: Best of 2013 is the name of our publication,…
