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.
What Health Reform Can Learn From Cleveland Clinic | Newsweek Health | Newsweek.com Although it’s not the primary focus of the article, Lean gets a mention early in the article: A century after Henry Ford began building cars on an…
Some off-topic non-Lean related weekend fun, this video promoting breast cancer awareness: As the ever helpful snopes.com page points out — yes, Medline does donate a percentage of the sale of pink gloves to breast cancer awareness, but…
Some great thoughts for Thanksgiving Day from Quint Studer, ideas that could apply to any organization, not just in healthcare. Quint’s Blog: The Grateful Workplace: Six Ways to Create a Culture of Gratitude in Your Organization His post begins: Here’s…
VIBCO VIBRATORS: VIBCO Vibrators Lean Healthcare Discussion on December 1, 2009 Come join me and our hosts from VIBCO if you’re in the Rhode Island area on December 1. I’ll be driving down from Boston to participate in the discussion.…
NE Fla. health care providers cut waste – Jacksonville Business Journal: Here’s a nice upbeat article about some lean healthcare progress in Jacksonville, including our good friend, Dr. Sami Bahri, the “World’s First Lean Dentist.” I like the intro of…
We had some local Boston news about hospitals reducing infection rates, including dangerous blood stream infections that result from central lines. Several academic medical centers in Boston said the number of ICU patients contracting bloodstream infections had dropped by at…
TL;DR: Disruptive and disrespectful behavior in hospitals creates fear that undermines patient safety, quality, and continuous improvement. Lean healthcare depends on psychological safety and respectful leadership–without it, even the best tools and technologies fail. amednews: Disruptive behavior by doctors, nurses…
CNN Programs – Anchors/Reporters – Sanjay Gupta I had a very full, interesting week – giving a well-received talk about Lean Healthcare at the Ontario Hospital Association convention, spending a day with a hospital east of Toronto, and hearing some…
Expert’s Corner: Lean Enterprise Institute’s Mark Graban : Industry Market Trends Sorry, no real post today (just returned from three busy days with Lean Healthcare in Toronto, will blog soon about meeting Newt Gingrich, a real proponent of Lean and…
Freeport woman sues hospital after biopsy mix-up This is really discouraging to see yet another serious specimen labeling mishap in a pathology department that’s led to the good news / bad news situation that we’ve read about before: Good News:…
Lean… and saving green – Materials Management in Healthcare Mag Here’s an article in a healthcare trade publication that features the Lean improvements from two hospitals: LeBonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis (featured in my book, Lean Hospitals, and Kingston General…
Effective Preventive Care Crucial : NPR Lean thinkers, especially in manufacturing, know about TPM, aka Total Productive Maintenance. It becomes intuitive to a lean thinker that taking care of machines and equipment saves money in the long run. TPM leads…
