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 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…
When I was leaving the recent Shingo Prize conference, last week, I had what can only be described as a taxi ride from hell on my way from Covington, Kentucky to the CVG airport. The taxi driver, who had been…
Inspired by Mark’s recent posting on More Trust, Less Fear and an upcoming conference panel that I’m a part of, I thought a continuation of the “soft skills” discussion would be timely. The first thing that comes to my mind…
I am happy to share, with permission, a new journal article that I co-authored with Jim Adams (“The Synthesizer“), the senior director of laboratory operations at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. It is now published in the Wiley journal “Global Business…
I saw this article last week in the USA Today while traveling, with the online headline “Products nipped, tucked to save.” That headline makes me think first of old fashioned cost cutting – which in these economic times often means…
Recently, a group of leaders from the third cohort in the Healthcare Value Leaders Network visited Mercy Medical Center in Mason City, Iowa for one of our “gemba visits” that are conducted three times a year in each cohort. These…
I snapped this pic while visiting a hospital earlier this year. This was out in the cafeteria as part of a series of signs that featured real people talking about their real role in quality.
Today, I’m sharing a brilliant Slate.com interview: “Risky Business: James Bagian “NASA astronaut turned patient safety expert” on Being Wrong.” He’s actually also an engineer and an anesthesiologist. An impressive background and impressive thinking. I will share a few highlights…
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,…
Back in 2011, I shared a draft of the final chapter from the first edition of Lean Hospitals and invited readers to contribute their thoughts on “A Vision for a Lean Hospital.” The responses were thoughtful, insightful, and helped shape…
