Healthcare Kaizen : engaging front-line staff in sustainable continuous improvements /

• Main Authors: Graban, Mark (Author), Swartz, Joseph E. (Author)
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: Boca Raton, FL CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group 2012
• Subjects: Franciscan St. Francis Health (Indianapolis, Ind.); Franciscan Alliance; Hospital Administration; Quality Improvement
• Online Access: Click Here to View Status and Holdings.

 If the furious debate around the state of healthcare in the US has led to any consensus, it's that the system should be delivering better quality for less cost than it does. The truth is that our healthcare system is a sprawling mix of competing interests in which those of the patient are valued least. Too much discussion has devolved to simplistic scapegoating, and too few comprehensive, constructive solutions have been offered. It's time for a fresh vision. In straightforward language, Healthcare at a Turning Point: A Roadmap for Change outlines a new market-based business model that aligns industry financing mechanisms with the goals of prevention, improved quality, and reduced costs. Drawing on more than 25 years of cross-industry consulting experience, the authors: Articulate a market-based vision of the industry Examine past efforts to reduce costs, their failures and their unanticipated consequences Spotlight perverse incentives that distort the way the healthcare system operates and make it less than it could be Present concrete recommendations for change within the healthcare delivery, insurance, pharmaceutical, device and diagnostics sectors Explain the changes that employers, consumers and policy makers can make to create a more customer-responsive system that delivers more value "This book focuses on daily continuous improvement, or kaizen, for healthcare professionals and organizations. It shares some mechanics for facilitating kaizen, but more importantly covers the management mindsets and philosophies required to make kaizen work effectively in a department or as an organization-wide program. All of the examples are real healthcare examples shared by Franciscan Alliance Health System and other leading organizations, with many color pictures and illustrations of kaizens. This book will be helpful to healthcare organizations that have embraced weeklong improvement events, but now want to move beyond just doing events into a more complete lean management system"--Provided by publisher.