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.
Mark’s note: Today’s guest post is from Dr. Mark Jaben, an American doctor who worked in New Zealand, leading to this blog post. I have talked with Mark about Lean quite a bit over the past few years and we…
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…
One of my favorite of the 14 “Toyota Way” principles to discuss with hospitals, in particular, is principle #8, which says: “Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes.” Too many organizations, across multiple industries, think…
Here is Part 3 of our video discussion series about Lean Healthcare Design, featuring Miguel Burbano, an architect and Senior Vice President with The Neenan Company, and Dr. Randall Huss, President of the St. John’s Clinic – Rolla (MO). Here,…
I want to tell you about an event I’m helping to plan for people in the DFW area. This is a small, by-invitation event, for senior manufacturing leaders who have significant lean experience and senior healthcare executives (primary the C-level).…
The website HK News Watch published an article called “Hospitals take initiative to tackle long waits” that describes efforts to use Lean and kaizen to reduce patient waiting times. The article describes waste and waiting time that would familiar to…
It’s sort of cliche’ to complain about long lines at the U.S. Post Office , along with generally surly or disinterested employees. My buddy John sent me an email about a recent experience where the postal employee WANTED to help,…
Here is Part 2 of our video discussion series about Lean Healthcare Design, featuring Miguel Burbano, an architect and Senior Vice President with The Neenan Company, and Dr. Randall Huss, President of the St. John’s Clinic – Rolla (MO). Today,…
I found this lengthy series of articles from the Las Vegas Sun, published under the heading of “Do No Harm: Hospital Care in Las Vegas.” The series serves as a good introduction to those who are new to healthcare and…
Just before the new year, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch featured the Lean efforts at Barnes-Jewish Hospital (“St. Louis hospital among handful using efficiency to aid patients“). I think it’s more than a “handful” of hospitals around the world using Lean…
I’m happy to present a new multi-part video discussion series about Lean Healthcare Design, featuring Miguel Burbano, an architect and Senior Vice President with The Neenan Company, and Dr. Randall Huss, President of the St. John’s Clinic – Rolla (MO).
Again, my apologies for writing about myself today, following up on my post about the upcoming 2nd edition of my book Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Satisfaction, I have a few more updates and coming attractions to…
