ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the difference between Lean process improvements and Lean hospital design. Although synergistic, they are different.
The American healthcare landscape is changing again. As the nation faces increasing fiscal pressure, there is less tolerance for limitless financing of our healthcare system-the world’s most expensive,1 which consumes over 17% of the gross domestic product (GDP)2 while leaving one in six Americans uninsured.3 This same system, which routinely performs medical miracles, is also responsible for the deaths of about 90,000 people annually due to medical error4 and another 99,000 due to hospital-acquired infections.5 Other nations do far better with far less.
