Before I head out on vacation, here is a reader question that I am sharing for your input.I’m sharing this with permission and I’m obscuring a few details at their request. Please read and leave a comment below the post.…
Here is another question emailed to me by a reader, so I’m answering it here (with the reader’s permission and removing any identifying details): The question: I am currently faced with a problem with scheduling breast biopsies. The next available…
I was asked a question by a Twitter follower over the weekend: “What are the pros & cons of using direct observations in hospital environment to identify value & non value adding activities?” It’s a short question, but I didn’t…
I probably get asked some version of the following question, in person or via email, once a week or more: “How many American hospitals are implementing Lean?” Sometimes it’s asked, as it was today, in terms of “How many… are…
It’s a double reader letter day… I was asked, by a healthcare professional, about where she could find Lean Healthcare conferences. I’ll share my list and links below, both the events focused on Lean Healthcare as well as those with…
Here’s a question from a healthcare leader that I thought I’d share for input from you, the blog readers. This person is looking to change their hiring and people “sourcing” practices, after visiting ThedaCare and learning about their “Human Development…
Hello from Las Vegas, where Monday is Day 2 of the outstanding Society for Health Systems annual conference. I presented Sunday about Healthcare Kaizen and my co-author Joe Swartz took Q&A with me. I took a lot of notes on…
In the Lean movement, organizations are often wise to have some variation on a “no layoffs due to Lean” policy, as I’ve written about before. Many healthcare organizations, including ThedaCare, have made this commitment quite publicly. Since Lean is about…
It’s time for another reader question – this time, it was a question that came in via Twitter. It was right on point with things I was talking to Paul Akers about in our recent podcast (audio and video). The…
Not long ago, I asked readers for questions that could be addressed in audio or video podcasts. I received this question that I’m addressing in this video: “If we have developed a Lean process, but people aren’t following it, what…
I’ve recently had an email exchange with a retiree who is volunteering in a non-profit hospice care facility. I’m sharing this thoughts with his permission. It sounds like there’s often nothing for the volunteers to do and the leaders aren’t…
Here is a new reader question from Steve Palmreuter in Michigan. He raises a topic that I’ve been thinking about lately, so I’m happy to share it with you (with his permission). You might remember Steve as I blogged about…