There’s a long-standing argument that I’ve been dragged into with a group that calls itself “new systems thinkers.” They loudly criticize Lean as being altogether awful (with the alternative, predictably, being their services). One of them wrote a blog post…
Today’s post is an interview I conducted via email with Justin Holland, Managing Principal of GE Healthcare Americas. Before joining GE, he was most recently Vice President of Business Performance at Cleveland Clinic. In this interview we cover topics including…
A number of readers emailed me a link to this New York Times article: “U.S. Inaction Lets Look-Alike Tubes Kill Patients.” The headline emphasizes the lack of governmental oversight, but I’d rather talk about the poor system design that allows…
Here is a nice little (under 2 minutes) news video from New Zealand talking about one hospital (in Auckland) and their implementation of the “Releasing Time to Care” program that was started in the British NHS. Other hospitals across New…
I received an email from a reader that I’m sharing and commenting on with permission. “Dear Mark: I am a lean coordinator for a manufacturing company and it was a real shock to see some of the waste during a…
TL;DR: The New York Times showed that Lean healthcare isn’t about “factory medicine,” but about removing waste so clinicians can focus on patients. When grounded in respect for people and strong leadership, Lean improves quality, access, and cost–while misapplied versions…
This is going to seem like a political rant, but I promise this is mainly a post about Lean and healthcare, or at least it’s about dysfunctional parallels in both settings. It was said that President Ronald Reagan and Speaker…
ThedaCare, the health system in Wisconsin, often gets a lot of attention for the Lean improvements in their four hospitals, but they are also doing some excellent work in redesigning primary and specialty care, as well (as highlighted in this…
I would like to say a sincere “Happy Nurses Week” though, to the nurses who are reading. As I said on Twitter yesterday: Happy Nurses Day! You all deserve systems and processes that allow you to make the most of…
I’m blogging notes and thoughts as I watch the Discovery Channel documentary by actor Dennis Quaid and others — “Chasing Zero: Winning the War on Healthcare Harm” that first aired April 24 at 8 am EDT. With laptop and…
In an article (“Assembly required: Health care from the Toyota factory floor“) from Canada’s National Post newspaper says Lean healthcare is “taking Canadian healthcare by storm.” The piece leads with some work done by Windsor’s Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital – a…
TL;DR: Patient safety leader Lucian Leape’s critique appears less about Lean itself and more about “L.A.M.E.”–Lean As Misguidedly Executed. True Lean in healthcare prioritizes patient safety, quality, and respect for people; when those are missing, the problem isn’t Lean–it’s how…
