Aug

Transforming Healthcare thru Lean

John Toussaint, M.D., CEO of the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value was my Podcast guest this week. From 2000 to 2008, Dr. Toussaint served as president and chief executive officer of ThedaCare, Inc., a community-owned, four-hospital health system including twenty-one physician clinics, as well as home health capabilities, senior care facilities, hospice care, and behavioral health. ThedaCare is the largest employer in Northeast Wisconsin with nearly 5,400 employees, serving an eight-county region.

During his tenure as president and CEO of ThedaCare, Dr. Toussaint introduced the ThedaCare Improvement System (TIS), which is derived from the Toyota Production System. This model of continuous improvement helped save millions of dollars in healthcare costs by reducing patient errors, improving outcomes and delivering better quality care at a higher value.

Dr. Toussaint’s new book, On the Mend: Revolutionizing Healthcare to Save Lives and Transform the Industry, co-authored with Roger A. Gerard, PhD. describes the triumphs and stumbles of a seven-year journey to lean healthcare, an effort that continues today. In the podcast, we discussed the “How to” of these achievements. I believe that any Continuous Improvement participant can benefit from reading this book. I have read it twice!

About Healthcare Value Leaders: The partnership between the Lean Enterprise Institute (LEI) and the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value (TCHV) brings together two of the world’s leaders in “lean thinking,” with a combined 20 years of experience in lean implementation and education. Working in partnership allows LEI and the TCHV to leverage their unique perspectives and not-for-profit missions to accomplish a shared goal of fundamentally improving healthcare delivery through lean thinking.

Join John Toussaint, MD, and Roger Gerard, PhD, on Monday, September 13, 2010, at 2:00 p.m. (Eastern) for a free webinar on how to engage people and put culture change at the center of your lean management conversion.