For more than a decade, interactive and intensive improvement meetings — also known as kaizen events — have created a forum to refine and improve the quality, safety and efficiency of health care for patients at Virginia Mason Health System. As a result, continuous, incremental improvement has advanced our processes and systems. Using 3P to design patient-centered spaces 3P (Production Preparation Process) is a turbo-charged...
Leveraging 3P in Health Care Facility Design
Recent Blog Posts
Eliminating Health Care Waste Improves Sepsis...

Why waste elimination is essential to improving health care Waste elimination is essential to the Virginia Mason Production System (VMPS) and lean methodology. The...

Empowering teams to identify and address sepsis,...

Virginia Mason staff members share their experiences implementing the Sepsis Power Hour protocol Sepsis is a factor in one out of every two to three hospital deaths...

The Flows of Medicine

Proper flow influences predictable and reliable processes The experience of flow can be found in nature. A river, for example, has movement, a certain pace to it, a...

Capturing the Patient Voice: Part 2

When patients need a passport In Capturing the Patient Voice – Part 1, we explored how to facilitate greater patient engagement in a health care setting. We also...

How Leaders Can Inspire a Culture Shift

An interview with Celeste Derheimer, Senior Partner at Virginia Mason Institute What is the best part of working with a health care team within a lean construct? CD:

Using Leadership Kata to Achieve Key Results in...

Kata, a Japanese word, can be used to describe a routine or pattern of behavior. At Virginia Mason, leadership kata is made up of the daily behaviors and activities...

How Takt Time Can Help Health Care Organizations...

“Takt” is a German word that means “beat” or “pace.” My foundational understanding of pace takes me back to my early days of studying piano and using the mechanical...

How a Team Took on a Small Space to Improve Care...

Everyone knows that lean tools and methods are great for improving health care processes. But many don’t know that culture is key to making innovative changes that...

How Does a Kaizen Promotion Office Support...

At Virginia Mason, the purpose of the Kaizen Promotion Office (KPO) is to accelerate the application and impact of the Virginia Mason Production System (VMPS)...

Selected Resources

Healthcare Improvement Insights

Explore articles, case studies, and research that help healthcare leaders drive sustainable improvement.

Mistake-Proofing Primary Care

Mistake-Proofing Primary Care

Start Your Lean Health Care Journey Learn More Problem Virginia Mason recognized that mistakes and ...

Mistake-Proofing Primary Care

Start Your Lean Health Care Journey Learn More Problem Virginia Mason recognized that mistakes and ...

Why a Midwest Health System Went to Virginia ...

Why a Midwest Health System Went to Virginia ...

“The fact that Virginia Mason is driven by the same purpose we are – serving patients and ...

Why a Midwest Health System Went to Virginia Mason Institute for Help

“The fact that Virginia Mason is driven by the same purpose we are – serving patients and ...

Managing Phone Calls in Primary Care

Managing Phone Calls in Primary Care

Problem Responding to patient phone calls at Virginia Mason consumed a great deal of clinic time ...

Managing Phone Calls in Primary Care

Problem Responding to patient phone calls at Virginia Mason consumed a great deal of clinic time ...