Lean Management (4)


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 illustrated how capturing the patient voice for organizational improvement leads to tremendous benefits, including improving patient safety, increasing staff and patient satisfaction, and generating revenue. However, many health care organizations have been slow to...
Capturing the Patient Voice: Part 2
Recent Blog Posts
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)...

Implementing Process Improvement by Focusing on...

Evaluate Your Organization’s Culture Our lean health care experts can assess your organization and help you discover how to accelerate change and attain a...

Removing Muda From Daily Work

“Muda” is a Japanese term that, when considered in health care, describes wasteful aspects of processes that add no value for the patient. At Virginia Mason, we use...

Using a 3P to Create a Vision and Plan for Better...

How 3Ps enable a new vision to take hold A 3P (Production Preparation Process) workshop is an approach that enables health care teams to create revolutionary...

Four Ways to Improve Financial Capacity in Health...

An interview with Marlon Borbon, partner at Virginia Mason Institute In your work with clients, what do you see as the key to improving financial capacity? MB: I’ve...

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 ...