Taking Improvement from the Assembly Line to Healthcare: The Application of Lean within the Healthcare Industry

According to a report by the Institute of Medicine, up to 98,000 deaths per year occur in U.S. hospitals as a result of adverse events. In other words, errors in hospitals cause more annual deaths than car accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS. With the healthcare system in such critical condition, Lean is the best possible treatment.
Winner of a 2013 Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award!
Taking Improvement from the Assembly Line to Healthcare: The Application of Lean within the Healthcare Industry supplies step-by-step guidance on how to implement Lean methods to achieve world-class improvement within the healthcare industry. Specific examples of this approach are provided in emergency medicine, diagnostic imaging, orthopedic clinics, general internal medicine, administration, and community care. Highlighting quality, safety, and financial evidence as to why immediate change is both possible and essential, the book provides a firm foundation in Lean improvement and the tools used to deliver sustainable solutions. It presents client interviews and case studies from the U.S. and Canada to provide readers with the real-world understanding needed to embark and sustain a successful improvement journey.
With two decades of experience in industrial operations management, Ronald Bercaw details a proven approach for discovering waste and delivering improvement in healthcare organizations. He presents powerful insights gained through successful Lean implementations in private industry, U.S. and Canadian healthcare systems, U.S. Pentagon business systems, U.S. Surgeon General assignments, and U.S. Navy, Army, and Air Force maintenance applications.
Providing a comprehensive view of improvement within and outside the walls of the hospital and clinic, the book reveals valuable lessons learned and mitigation strategies to increase your chances of success. It identifies and addresses the leadership challenges that are likely to emerge and includes a detailed roadmap to provide you with the tools needed to achieve sustainable improvements in quality, patient safety, productivity, and staff development and engagement.
Watch Ronald Bercaw discuss how to apply the Toyota Production System to the healthcare industry.