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.
It’s my second post about the TV show Grey’s Anatomy, the first being “McDreamy” Fights the Blame Game on “Grey’s Anatomy.” Each post makes it less believable that I don’t watch the show religiously. Thanks go to my wife for…
As Mark Graban stated in a recent post, “People fear or assume that a factory is…mindless, monotonous, repetitive…” These sentiments may come from observation of one aspect of lean and manufacturing: rules and related rewards. There is the common (mis-)perception…
On a recent Sunday morning, I was watching cable news channels and two different commercials had a word jump out at me, words that are commonly used in the Lean management system. One commercial featured the term “mistake proofed” and…
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 The article titled “For Lean Factories, No Buffer” yet again takes an outdated 1980s view that Lean…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…
