Success at the Right Speed: Learning from Toyota

WIHI continues its series of useful webcasts. This one will be on Thursday, May 6, 2010, from 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM Eastern time.

Three of the world's experts on implementation of the Toyota Production System, or Lean, in the hospital setting will be on the air:

Steven J. Spear, Senior Lecturer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Senior Fellow, IHI;
John Toussaint, Founder and President, ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value; and
Gary Kaplan, MD, Chairman and CEO, Virginia Mason Health System.

Here's the description from host Madge Kaplan:

It’s hard to imagine a discussion about improving health care without mentioning “lean thinking” or “doing more with less”; how about striving for “zero defects” or “eliminating Muda” or waste? The principles that fuel the Toyota Production System (TPS) are so embedded in the way we think about health care quality, it’s no wonder the car manufacturer’s recent safety problems have been troubling and cause for concern far beyond the world of auto makers alone.

But, as with everything else Toyota, this detour from its own core values and the U-turn now taking place to get back to them are providing new learning for health care. Who better to tease this out for us than Steve Spear, John Toussaint, and Gary Kaplan, three individuals whose careers have been profoundly shaped by adapting the best of TPS thinking to health care delivery.

Bring your ears and your wisdom to WIHI on May 6 -- and note that we’re starting a bit later in the afternoon so John Toussaint can join us from Australia. To enroll, please click here.