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.
Hospital management to become lean and mean Here’s an article from a Thailand newspaper, where the “Lean and Mean” bug has also bit editors there (and I won’t repeat my ranting about that, though you can click here for some…
By Mike Thelen: Having spent the last 10 years working within Lean disciplines, it is second nature to identify shortcomings in any business model from a Lean perspective. Since I also have two individuals in my immediate family who work…
Creating a Lean Practice – April 2006 – Family Practice Management I started a new client project yesterday, so I’m a bit swamped. I’m excited to be doing some work in a direct patient-care setting. This linked article is a…
Ok, so I’ll combine a mish-mash of Ford related topics into a single post here. First off, it’s the 100th anniversary of the Model T, introduced in 1908. Yesterday’s USA Today has an article about the anniversary and some interesting…
Heparin errors and patient harm have been in the news quite a bit the last few years. So what are hospital regulators doing about it? Let’s look at the time line here: 2006: Heparin error kills 3 babies in Indianapolis…
I’m giving a talk this morning at the “Lab Quality Confab,” an event for hospital laboratory leaders. The title of my presentation is “Engaging Employees to Embrace Lean and Energize Their Creativity.” I think hospitals have a long way to…
Health care fix a joint effort | Postcrescent.com | Appleton Post-Crescent: I’m happy to announce a future podcast with John Toussaint, release date TBD. If you have any questions for him about the Lean efforts at ThedaCare or his new…
Hopkins | Episodes — #1 (Video) Has anyone else watched the ABC “news” show called “Hopkins“? I’ve seen just the first episode (via iTunes) and wanted to comment on it. I believe you can watch the show free using the…
Pharmacy transformed at Women and Children’s Hospital Here is a story about a Buffalo hospital that designed a new pharmacy space. The article doesn’t mention Lean… although I know of many hospitals that have used Lean methods in a pharmacy…
Running a hospital: Surprising use of Lean Paul Levy, CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in Boston, is a blogger and advocate for Lean healthcare. In this post, he forwards a story about someone using lean methods to help…
Hospital News: Markham Stouffville Hospital makes 50 improvements to the emergency department Here’s a news story that describes the beginning of a Lean journey in a Canadian hospital: The leadership team at Markham Stouffville Hospital turned to the LEAN methodology,…
To celebrate the 50th LeanBlog Podcast, the tables are turned. Guest host Jamie Flinchbaugh chats with me, Mark Graban, about the history of my blog, my podcasts, and how this led into my new book, Lean Hospitals. This was Jamie’s…