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.
In addition to the Healthcare Kaizen class that Joe Swartz and I are doing in Detroit on January 22 (with a 10% reader discount), we might also do a class in Orlando, immediately before or after the Society for Health Systems…
Today and tomorrow, I’m attending the Lean Startup conference in San Francisco (the event produced by Eric Ries, the author of The Lean Startup). I’ll be learning a lot of ideas by attending presentations and networking, which will be applicable…
tl;dr: “Accountability” in most organizations means blame — but real accountability starts with leaders fixing systems, not punishing individuals who can’t do the right thing because the system won’t let them. One of our topics, prompted by some feedback from…
Mark’s Note: Today brings another guest post from Joe Swartz, my co-author for our Healthcare Kaizen series of books. Read his previous posts here. I also did a podcast with him about his experiences at the Franciscan St. Francis…
Mark’s Note: Today’s guest post is by Joe Swartz, my co-author for the books Healthcare Kaizen and The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen. Joe will be a regular contributor in the future and I also did a podcast with him…
Thankfully, it was nothing harmful or that dangerous… but I committed a medical mistake on myself last Saturday. I tweaked my lower back last Wednesday – something that, thankfully, isn’t a chronic problem (but I did just turn 40). It…
I grew up just outside of Detroit, so I’m always pulling for the city to turn things around. The newly-elected mayor, Mike Duggan, is the former CEO of Detroit Medical Center. Back in 2009, I blogged about a radio commercial…
Mark’s Note: Today’s post is by Brian Buck, a long-time friend of this blog and a frequent contributor of some very funny Lean Memes! Check out his blog, Improve with Me. By Brian Buck: Before I get into the topic…
Mark’s Note: I’m away on vacation through November 6… there will be some guest posts in this post during that time. Today’s post is by Dean Bliss, a good friend of mine who has worked in Lean healthcare for a…
PBS has aired a documentary about an Emergency Department in East Oakland, CA. You can visit the website for the film and you can also view it via YouTube: It’s a very spartan documentary… sometimes dull and routine, sometimes compelling.…
Mark’s Note: Today’s post is a guest post by Nial Toner, who works for PathXL in the UK. I thought this was an interesting post because it touches on leader behaviors and team dynamics in a setting that we don’t…
It’s great to see CEOs blogging and sharing transparently on the web, sharing their views, stories, and opinions. Paul Levy was a real innovator in this regard (and still blogs about “Not Running a Hospital“). You can find a few…