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: Dean told me about his involvement in this event and I asked him to share a bit about it here: By Dean Bliss: Those of us outside manufacturing face challenges in bringing the Lean philosophy to our industries.…
Forgive my horn tooting here, but here is the current list of Amazon’s Top 10 Healthcare Administration books (rankings change frequently). So what I’m thrilled about is that the topic of Lean is apparently in the “mass market” of ideas…
The Nun and the Bureaucrat (LEI Link) I started endorsing and promoting this outstanding DVD and companion book back in 2006 when I first saw it. The Lean Enterprise Institute has obtained the rights to sell this at a new…
I’ll be speaking Thursday morning at the annual Society for Health Systems conference in Chicago. I’ll be around all day Wednesday, attending a workshop in the afternoon. If any Lean Blog readers are attending, let me know via email and…
Thanks to Luke for this story, which he allowed me to share: I was touring a new client hospital with the Director of Inpatient Services today. She was explaining the renovations they—Äôd done in the birthing suites. We were about…
Curious at Amazon, but Not Idle – Bits Blog – NYTimes.com This piece about Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos made me think about visiting the “Gemba” (the Japanese term that means “the actual place” — the place where work is done).…
New Zealand Doctor Online – Medical News for GPs I often end up groaning (and complaining here) when I see news stories or editorials about Lean because the writers often “don’t get it.” This editorial, from New Zealand, is different,…
Thanks to visibility from my blog and my book, Lean Hospitals, I get a number of questions from people about how to transition into healthcare from other industries, people who have great Lean experience in manufacturing or retail, for example.…
Got this question from a reader: After successful application of lean to clinical processes we are moving into the the finance/accounting transaction areas such as A/P and A/R and month end close and are finding a more difficult road to…
Hospitals See Benefits of Lean and Six Sigma Regular readers know I often write about what I termed “L.A.M.E.” — Lean as Misguidedly Executed. The ASQ (American Society for Quality) survey that I linked to at the top probably just…
Hulu – ER: Old Times – Watch the full episode now. Thanks to Bryan to bringing this episode of ER to my attention. I don’t normally watch it, but my wife always DVRs it, so I was able to watch…
TL;DR: “Toyota’s ‘stop the line’ concept is being adapted for healthcare — empowering any staff member to pause a procedure when something seems wrong, before it becomes a harm event. A surgical tech suspects the wrong patient has been brought…