Transforming Health Care

For decades, the manufacturing industry has employed the Toyota Production System � the most powerful production method in the world � to reduce waste, improve quality, reduce defects and increase worker productivity. In 2001, Virginia Mason Medical Center, an integrated healthcare delivery system in Seattle, Washington set out to achieve its compelling vision to become The Quality Leader and to fulfill that vision, adopted the Toyota Production System as its management method. Transforming Health Care:Virginia Mason Medical Center's Pursuit of the Perfect Patient Experiencetakes you on the journey of of Virginia Mason Medical Center's pursuit of the perfect patient experience through the application of lean principles, tools, and methodology. The results speak for themselves, including: An innovative patient safety alert system Reduction in professional liability insurance expenses Foundational changes that make it possible for nurses to spend 90% of their time with patients A computerized module that sorts through electronic medical charts and automatically identifies when disease management and preventative testing due Over the last several years Virginia Mason has become internationally known for its journey towards perfection by applying the Toyota Production System to healthcare. The book takes readers step by step through Virginia Mason's path finding and sometimes painful journey as it seeks to provide perfection to its customer “ the patient. This book shows you how you use this system to transform your own organization.