Healthcare improvement isn’t about working harder—it’s about better systems, better leadership, and a culture that supports learning and speaking up. This archive brings together blog posts, podcasts, and reflections on Lean healthcare, patient safety, quality improvement, leadership, and continuous improvement. Many of these posts draw on real hospital experiences and lessons from Deming, Toyota, and frontline healthcare teams, with a consistent emphasis on respect for people and learning from mistakes.
Today’s post is from my friend Naida Grunden, author of the outstanding book The Pittsburgh Way to Efficient Healthcare: Improving Patient Care Using Toyota Based Methods. In 2003, in a meeting room in Pittsburgh, then-Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill led a…
In conjunction with our newly released DVD on strategy deployment in healthcare, the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value has released a new white paper on the subject that you can download for free. PAPER LINK (PDF) The white paper features…
Sorry for what might seem like a very promotional post, but I’m happy to share some details with you about a project I’ve been deeply involved in – a new DVD produced by the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value about…
Are We 84.7% Certain We’re in the 90th Percentile? Of course, hospitals should focus on patient satisfaction. That’s important but is often a vague and uncertain thing to measure. But, as Dr. Deming said: “The most important figures that one…
On Friday, there was yet another Wall Street Journal article about Lean (fixating as they always do on the “Just In Time” component). The article titled “For Lean Factories, No Buffer” yet again takes an outdated 1980s view that Lean…
Here’s a great story from my home state where I grew up, Michigan: “Hospital checklist helps pneumonia rates tumble by 70%.” From the article: Ventilator-associated pneumonia rates plummeted 70% at Michigan hospitals when physicians and other medical staff members improved…
Here’s a quick update on some of our latest projects in the Healthcare Value Leaders Network. Our 2nd annual Lean Healthcare Transformation Summit in June has SOLD OUT. If you are still interested, please sign up on the waiting list…
When hospital people say they don’t want to be a factory or “we don’t want assembly-line medicine,” the statement often goes unchallenged. What is the statement or the anxiety behind such a statement? I sometimes challenge in a friendly way…
I recently “fired” my primary care physician. I’m lucky to not have to go to the doctor very often, but the last few times I did, I had to wait more than an hour beyond my scheduled appointment time (in…
It’s great to see Lean mentioned in mainstream healthcare management publications, such as the article in HealthLeaders (print and online) called “Systemwide Process Improvement.” The article highlights one hospital you might know really well, Seattle’s Virginia Mason Medical Center (featured…
You might have read my blog post from last week about an unsafe taxi driver and medical errors – Said the Unsafe Taxi Driver, “Well, Did I Hit Anybody?” In a colossal coincidence, the New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd…
Thanks to the healthcare information magazine “For the Record” for accepting my article on Lean Healthcare. As usual, I wasn’t given the chance to give input on the title of the piece, as it was titled “Lean Management: Thin Is…