CEO’s Lean Vision for Stanford Hospital
Today’s post is a link to a great interview with Amir Dan Rubin, the CEO of Stanford Hospital & Clinics. I met Amir a few years ago when he was COO of UCLA Medical Center and they were an early…
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.
Today’s post is a link to a great interview with Amir Dan Rubin, the CEO of Stanford Hospital & Clinics. I met Amir a few years ago when he was COO of UCLA Medical Center and they were an early…
Ken Congdon at Healthcare Technology Online recently interviewed me for this story that’s now online: Kaizen: The Key To Lean Healthcare?. Mark Graban, lean expert and co-author of an upcoming book titled Healthcare Kaizen, often compares Kaizen to the suggestion…

Episode #146 is a discussion with a returning guest (#54, #62, #72), John Toussaint, MD, the CEO of the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value. Today, we’re talking about his latest book, recently released, called Potent Medicine: The Collaborative Cure for…
You might already know about the charity auctions that are running this week, ending Sunday May 6, to benefit Friends of the Orphans. I’m happy to announce four more auctions that also end on Sunday night: 2 Books: Autographed Lean…
Here are links to some varied articles I’ve read recently that might be of interest on a number of Lean related topics: NFL Draft – Player Names on Jerseys (Lean Blitz) – Chad Walters shares how the NFL got player…
Mark’s Note: Today’s post is a guest post that’s written for manufacturing settings. But, I’d challenge healthcare readers to think about how the impact of wasted motion and time for nurses and other healthcare professionals running around to get their…

I generally love the Apple Stores for their customer service and environment, as a primary Mac user for the past four years. You may have read stories about how executives from the Apple Store have been working with Stanford Hospital…
This was originally going to appear as an op-ed in a newspaper (so it’s written for a general audience who might not already be aware of Lean). But, it got bumped, so I’m presenting it here. As the Supreme Court…
In a recurring feature, here are links to some more articles I’ve read recently that might be of interest: Luxury car program brings cancer patients to treatment in style (KVUE-TV, Austin) – a great non-profit effort started by a former…
Here are links to some more articles I’ve read recently that might be of interest during my blog break (somewhat of a break): John Toussaint’s new book: Potent Medicine: The Collaborative Cure for Healthcare Premier touts Saskatchewan’s ‘lean’ health-care gains…
Mark’s Note: I recently closed down the Ning social network group called “Move to Healthcare,” created for people who were looking to transition their industry experience into healthcare. I had posted a success story, shared by Michael Lombard, about how…

Episode #144 is a discussion with Dean Gruner, MD, the president & CEO of ThedaCare, talking about Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and how ThedaCare is using this approach, along with Lean methods, to improve the coordination of care for patients.