Lean Hospitals: Improving Quality, Patient Safety, and Employee Engagement
“Be more careful” isn’t a safety plan.
Your people are already working hard. Lean Hospitals helps you improve the systems around them – with practical ways to reduce delays, prevent errors, and involve staff in better care.
Start with one chapter. See how the approach fits the work your team faces.
Free chapter with registration. Preview the approach before buying.
Improving Quality, Patient Safety,and Employee Engagement · Third Edition
Shingo Research Award recipient
“His book is a welcome translation of the Toyota Production System into language any health care professional can understand.”Jeffrey K. Liker · Author of the Toyota Way series
Make better care easier to deliver.
Start with the work as it happens. Learn to see problems, understand their causes, and improve systems with the people closest to the patient.
Improve quality & safety
Design processes that help prevent errors and support reliable care, so safety doesn’t depend on remembering to be careful.
Reduce delays & waste
See the waiting, workarounds, and unnecessary effort that make daily work harder for patients and staff.
Engage your team
Build a culture where people can raise concerns, test ideas, and participate in meaningful improvement.
What it looks like in practice
14 weeks to 31 hours
ThedaCare cut the wait for non-emergent orthopedic surgery, from first call to surgery.
76% fewer infections
Allegheny Hospital reduced central-line-associated bloodstream infections.
29% shorter ED stays
Avera McKennan cut emergency department length of stay and avoided $1.25 million in new construction.
Results as reported in the third edition, with sources. See all the results →
A shared approach to better healthcare.
Written for executives, managers, physicians, nurses, and frontline leaders, the book connects Lean principles to the realities of hospital work.
- Understand the principles behind the tools.
- Learn from real hospital examples.
- Connect daily improvement with leadership.
Read it with your team.
Read chapter one together, then ask: What makes good work harder here? Choose one problem to understand before jumping to a solution.
A vision for a Lean hospital →
Read healthcare leaders’ reviews →Mark Graban
Mark is an author, speaker, and consultant who has spent two decades helping healthcare organizations improve systems and engage the people doing the work.
His approach brings together practical improvement, respect for people, and leadership that supports learning.
More about Mark → Watch Mark’s videos →A coach that pushes back.
Ask most AI tools whether to use Lean to cut costs and they’ll say yes and hand you a list. The Lean Hospitals AI Coach will push back, the way the book does. It also works through 5 Whys, A3, and Kata with you, one step at a time.
No credit card. See how the Coach works →
Prefer working with Mark directly? Consulting & coaching →Start with a chapter, not a commitment.
Get a feel for the ideas and examples before deciding whether the book is right for you. The chapter is free with registration.
Keep learning with Mark
Explore more on improvement, learning from mistakes, and creating conditions where people can speak up.