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The Pittsburgh Way to Efficient Healthcare: Improving Patient Care Using Toyota Based Methods

by: Naida Grunden
en | Productivity Press

1563273675  9781563273674  9781435628229 

The Pittsburgh Way to Efficient Healthcare: Improving Patient Care Using Toyota Based Methods
By Naida Grunden




Product Description:

Documents the many successes of the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative (PRHI) member hospitals, who have successfully applied industrial principles that make patients safer and employees more satisfied.




Summary: Outstanding documentation of important Lean improvement efforts
Rating: 5

Naida's book is a must-read for those working with Lean in healthcare or clinical quality improvement.

It covers the journey of the Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative and their innovative work over the past few years.

A particular highlight is the documentation of the efforts of Dr. Richard Shannon and others to reduce hospital-acquired infections through the use of Lean methods.

There are many photographs and real examples that emphasize that it's not just a theoretical exercise that Lean works in healthcare.

This book is well-written and will inspire you to take action in your own hospital or health system. A must read.



Summary: The Pittsburgh Way...Demonstrates Practical Application of Lean in Healthcare
Rating: 5

Naida Grunden has written a practical, yet technically sound book regarding the tremendous work that has taken place in the Pittsburgh region. It speaks clearly to those within the healthcare industry that may be "put off" or can't relate to the more common Lean writings of those from industry, and that attempt to force manufacturings Lean approach as a pure translation to healthcare. Naida not only outlines the work that has taken place, but also shows the residual benefits that can result from sustained dedication to Lean principles. Various Lean education programs such as Belmont University's Lean Healthcare Certificate Program are using "The Pittsburgh Way" as a part of their curriculum and for good reason. Thanks Naida for writing this book, and we in the industry look forward to future writings resulting from you work.



Summary: Better AND Cheaper
Rating: 5

Efficiency means getting more for less, and Naida Grunden documents how PRHI has been encouraging efficiency in Pittsburgh. There are examples here for every hospital, but even more important is the way these gains were made. The approach to the problem. Open minds will be able to apply the Pittsburgh way to any healthcare setting.
Most experts agree that the biggest problem in healthcare today is cost. Reducing cost while providing the same or better service is what this book is all about.
Having followed the PRHI efforts for several years, I found the book a little short, particularly on the theory behind these efforts. It seems as if these changes were intuitive and easy. Trust me. Change is never easy. Perhaps this documentation will make similar changes easier for the rest of us.



Summary: Translating Lean/Toyota into Healthcare
Rating: 5

Full disclosure: I used to work with Naida Grunden at PRHI and was involved with some of the work she describes in her book. But it is precisely because I was buried in the weeds of the work that I appreciate Grunden's ability to extract a fair, accurate, and engaging narrative out of each story. She is a superb writer and I've found this book to be the ideal text for introducing healthcare workers to the connection between Toyota and healthcare.

I have since moved on from PRHI and am currently leading a hospital through a lean transformation. To that end I teach an 8 hour introductory course for every hospital employee. I assign portions of The Toyota Way by Jeffrey Liker and chapters from The Pittsburgh Way. Every time I teach the course, I have had participants ask me if they could keep their copy of The Pittsburgh Way a little longer in order to finish reading it. No one has ever asked to hold on to The Toyota Way!

The first chapter of The Pittsburgh Way--the gut-wrenching story of Steve and Diane Lares is a powerful emotional hook to the compelling need for a new way of organizing the delivery of care. The rest of the book translates abstract theory into practice--concrete healthcare practice. There's no better way to reach the frontlines in healthcare.



Summary: The Pittsburgh Way to Efficient Health Care
Rating: 5

In clear prose Grunden outlines how to prevent a host of medical mishaps that occur all too commonly in hospitals, emergency rooms and doctor's offices; things such as hospital-acquired infections (including MRSA), medication errors and waiting room snafus. These are low cost and low tech methods that can actually improve patient care and save lives! This book should be required reading for health care administrators, physicians, nurses and pharmacists. And it should be in every medical school, nursing school and hospital library.
George Young, MD