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.
Here is a short video from Johns Hopkins Medicine, a member of the Healthcare Value Network, an effort I help facilitate through the Lean Enterprise Institute. This video is from the Johns Hopkins Center for Innovation in Quality Patient Care.
It’s an honor to again contribute to John Hunter’s amalgamated Management Improvement Blog Carnival. The main page is located here. Ten bloggers are each selecting a few favorite posts from their favorite blogs to highlight. It’s quite a collection. Dan…
Update (1/7/10): Turns out the TSA agent walked away from his post. I’d certainly hold someone accountable for that, since it was a conscious choice, unless there were VERY extenuating circumstances. After seeing the news on CNN last night (video…
Article Link: Lexington hospitals building to be the best This article talks about the lean efforts of some hospitals in Lexington, KY – about 30 minutes away from Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK), the Georgetown plant. Is this an advantage…
Obama Awards Budget-Minded Federal Employee I saw this in the news yesterday about a federal employee from the VA, Nancy Fichtner, a clerk at the Grand Junction Veterans Medical Center. President Obama awarded her the “SAVE award,” which stands for…
Article Link: “Shorter hospital stays through better coordination” Is Lean a global phenomenon, or what? Here is a story from a Korean news website (in English) about a German consulting firm that’s an offshoot of a manufacturer (Porsche) helping hospitals…
Laboratory Equipment – Easy Lean Lab Exercises When I see “Easy Lean” or, as I also saw recently in a consultant’s promotion, “Instant Lean,” I take notice and cringe. “Easy Lean” and “Instant Lean” don’t exist. Sorry. Lean seems simple…
TL;DR: Sending nurses and other hospital staff home early when census dips may reduce short-term labor costs, but it undermines continuous improvement, morale, and patient flow. Lean organizations invest downtime in learning and improvement–because respect for people and better systems…
Paul Levy on Transparency, Social Media, and Quality Following up and continuing this morning’s post about MemorialCare. You can also read my notes and comments from Day 1 here. You probably know Paul as CEO, blogger, and twitter user. I’ve…
What an invigorating and exciting time at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement‘s 21st National Forum. Highlights from Day 2 included a talk on Lean at the MemorialCare system in California and a talk on social media and healthcare quality…
Ah, travel delays. Late night getting back from Orlando, so I will type up notes over the weekend from Wednesday’s talks at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Forum. Lean journey at Long Beach Memorial Hospital (listen to my previous Podcast…
‘It’s all about process’: Saint Mary’s Steve Palmreuter targets waste Here is an article that might serve as an inspiration for those of you who are looking to make a career transition from manufacturing to healthcare. The linked news article…