Everyday Lean: 3:30 AM
I know we have a winner in our May contest (or, see below). I was up at 3:30 AM yesterday to go do some lean work at a hospital. I borrowed a lean trick that my wife, a former road-warrior…
Tag Healthcare
Healthcare Improvement Through Lean, Leadership, and Learning
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.
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That Pill Again
what is the peach drug that says 7253 – Google Search Back in April, I wrote about a generic allergy pill I got from Walgreens. This blog has been getting hits every week from people who have that same question.…
Good Summary of Lean Healthcare DVD
Kaizen and Lean Manufacturing thoughts | Gemba Panta Rei Jon Miller, over at the Panta Rei blog, did a much better job of summarizing the “Good News!” DVD on lean healthcare. Click here if you’d like to learn more about…
Hospital Lean: Error Proofing
See this link: Stay safe in the hospital For some people, this is “Everyday Lean” unfortunately. Some great tips here if you, or someone you love, is going into the hospital, tips for preventing mistakes. There are plenty of lean principles…
The Nun and the Bureaucrat
ManagementWisdom.com I blogged earlier about an excellent “Lean Healthcare” DVD called “Good News: How Hospitals Heal Themselves”. Please call or email your local PBS station and ask them to air it, as many other PBS stations have done. I’m still…
Lean Hospital Design
To reduce errors, hospitals use innovative designs This article appeared Monday in the Wall St Journal, it reminded me of Jamie’s postings on lean factory design. Facility layout and design, while not the only driver of lean practices, definitely plays…
Healthcare Quality and Efficiency Incentives
A better tool to fight rising health costs? – The Boston Globe From a lean perspective, you have to admire any sincere efforts to help improve quality and efficiency in healthcare. As a country, we can’t afford double-digit cost increases…
Lean Healthcare DVD
Good News: How Hospitals Heal ThemselvesI purchased and watched this DVD, very worthwhile, even for the $75. You might luck out and see it for free on your local PBS station. It’s a very good overview of how the Toyota…
Overcrowded ER killing patients
Vancouver Sun The doctors are complaining publicly in Vancouver. It’s a sad situation and I hate to nit pick or criticize. “At least once daily, during a peak in patient load, ‘the Emergency Department cannot handle the influx and has…
Toyota plan aids U of I hospital efficiency
DesMoinesRegister.com More good lean news coming out of Iowa, this time in the “lean healthcare” world there. University Hospitals is among at least a dozen Iowa hospitals using or considering using Lean Manufacturing, a zero-waste process developed by Toyota, the…
MD’s "Passive Aggressive" with Standard Practices
USATODAY.com – ‘Wrong site’ surgeries on the rise It’s supposed to be a standard practice, since 2004, for preventing “wrong site surgeries” — placing a big “X” on the surgical site, to prevent the surgical team from operating on the…
Bad "Root Causing" in the ER
globeandmail.com : Vancouver General’s ER doctors warn patients The problem described in this article is a very common one, regarding “patient flow.” When hospitals don’t have beds available for patients, this is often due to poor processes, slow room turnaround,…
