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.
Following up on Part 1 of the survey results, we’ll now explore some of the results and lessons learned from event-driven Lean activities in hospitals and health systems (done under names such as Kaizen Events, Rapid Process Improvement Workshops, and…
Last month, I conducted a non-scientific online survey about the use of event-style Kaizen methodologies in healthcare. There were 41 responses, gathered from the following sources: www.leanblog.org The mailing list for my book, Lean Hospitals The Healthcare Management Engineers (HME)…
It seems like all we’re hearing now is layoffs, layoffs, layoffs. This article reports that Danaher, considered by many to be the best Lean company outside of Toyota (with its famed Danaher Business System), is laying off employees. Danaher Corp (DHR,…
The Pittsburgh Way to Efficient Healthcare: Improving Patient Care Using Toyota Based Methods Below is a guest post from fellow author and Lean Healthcare practitioner, Naida Grunden. Her book (linked above) is an outstanding collection of principles and case examples…
Three airlines drop self-reporting safety program – USATODAY.com Dropping this program has got to be one of those “process indicators” of airline safety. I can’t believe that flying will be as safe without this program where pilots could report problems…
BBC NEWS | Health | Breathing life into resuscitation Thanks to my old boss, Mike, for sending this my way. Here’s an article (with pictures, better photos here) from the BBC about a revolutionary new design for hospital “crash carts”…
In this early Lean Blog Podcast episode, John Toussaint reflects on how culture change and collaborative care shaped ThedaCare’s healthcare transformation. Our guest for Episode #54 is John S. Toussaint, MD, the CEO emeritus of ThedaCare, and CEO of the…
I recorded an upcoming LeanBlog Podcast with Steven J. Spear yesterday. Here is that episode: He’s promoting his new book Chasing the Rabbit: How Market Leaders Outdistance the Competition and How Great Companies Can Catch Up and Win. Update: the…
Vaccination available at hospital’s drive-through – The Boston Globe Have you gotten your flu shot yet? You might be able to find a “drive-through” way of getting that shot, if you’re lucky. Some clinics are allowing patients to get their…
LeanBlog Podcast Episode #53 is a conversation with Patrick M. Anderson, the Executive Director of Chugachmiut, the Tribal consortium created to promote self-determination to the seven Native communities of the Chugach Region. I met Patrick at a Lean conference, where…
Making lean thinking work in the NHS Here’s an article about a British hospital. I’ve seen the CEO, David Fillingham, speak about Lean and it sounds like they are really trying to embrace Lean thinking into the hospital’s culture and…
Running a hospital: It’s the economy You might have seen in the news that hospitals showed record profits in 2007, according to Modern Healthcare. U.S. community hospitals enjoyed record profits in 2007, posting $43 billion more in revenue than expenses…