Lean Hospitals ─ Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Engagement

Organizations around the world are using Lean to redesign care and improving processes in a way that achieves and sustains meaningful results for patients, staff, physicians, and health systems.Lean Hospitals, Third Edition explains how to use the Lean methodology and mindsets to improve safety, quality, access, and morale while reducing costs, increasing capacity, and strengthening the long-term bottom line.

The third edition of this Shingo Prize winner begins with an overview of Lean methods. It explains how Lean practices can help reduce wasted motion for caregivers, prevent delays for patients, and improve the long-term health of your organization. The second edition included new case studies and updated material on identifying waste, A3 problem solving, employee suggestion management, and strategy deployment. This third edition includes new sections on structured Lean problem solving methods (including "Toyota Kata"), "Lean Design," and other topics. Additional examples, case studies, and explanations are included throughout the book.

Mark Graban is a consultant, author, keynote speaker, and blogger in the world of Lean Healthcare. Mark is an experienced consultant and change agent, with a background in industrial and mechanical engineering and an MBA from the MIT Sloan Leaders for Global Operations Program. Prior to healthcare, Mark worked in multiple industries, including automotive (General Motors), electronics (Dell), and industrial products (Honeywell). At Honeywell, Mark was certified as a Lean Expert (Lean Black Belt). Since August 2005, Mark has worked exclusively in healthcare, where he has coached Lean teams at client sites in North America and the United Kingdom, including medical laboratories, hospitals, and primary care clinics. Mark's motivation is to apply Lean and Toyota Production System principles to improve quality of care and patient safety, to improve the customer/patient experience, to help the development of medical professionals and employees, and to help build strong organizations for the long term. From June 2009 to June, 2011, Mark was a Senior Fellow with the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI), a not-for-profit education organization that is a leading voice in the Lean world. In this role, Mark also served as the Director of Communication & Technoogy for the Healthcare Value Network, a collaboration of healthcare organizations from across North America, a partnership between LEI and the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value. Mark continues as an LEI faculty member. In June 2011, Mark joined the software company HaiNexus as their Chief Improvement Officer, to help further their mission of "making improvement easier" in healthcare organizations, while continuing his other consutling and speaking activities. To interact with Mark and the Lean healthcare community, visit www.LeanHospitalBook.com.