DailyKaizen

I read Lean Blog: A Year in Healthcare written by Mark Graban, one of our colleagues in improvement, and it reminded me that I, too, have been in this (LEAN) for a year.
It started when I asked my boss if we might use PDSA’s to improve our electronic medical record system, and he responded with a very short e-mail that said, “Yes, and investigate LEAN while you are at it.” A cup of coffee or two with Lee, and for me the rest is history.
Even though I come at this with a different background than Mark, my conclusions are the same. Lean is a powerful methodology. It is not about learning Japanese or specific tools. It’s applying a new way of thinking to how we treat people. Yesterday, I had a conversation with our Medical Director of Quality - we talked about an upcoming kaizen we are co-sponsoring as if it was something we do every day. Now, it sort of is something we do every day. Remarkable.

People are people, and people in healthcare are amazing. Lean supports medicine as a calling through respect for each person’s leadership (citizenship). I was interviewed yesterday about what a staff intranet should do for myself or an employee. My response was that it should help shape our culture, where providing health care is special, and being a staff member in this organizaition providing care is even more special. Those are intangible assets.

All of this is supported by Lean. It’s a great fit.

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