Beyond Lean – To Where?

I recently came across a seminar advertised as “Beyond Lean – Optimizing Factory Performance.”  The synopsis mentions learning about “Lean-Plus” and moving “…beyond conventional Lean Manufacturing.” Huh?

EHR Meaningful Use Criteria

Late last year (2009), CMS released the proposed Stage 1 criteria for Meaningful Use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) for Eligible Professionals and Hospitals.  (A nice summary of the criteria prepared by my colleague, Jason Miller, is available here, as well as some other useful links)  A quick look at the criteria shows that many providers are probably already performing parts of many of the criteria.  This could be dangerous.

Remember the Other Perspective

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is our (society’s) ability to insulate ourselves from activities occurring beyond our own area of expertise or interest.  I lead a seminar the other day to present some of the fundamentals of Process Improvement to attorneys and how these fundamentals could be applied to their firms.  When I asked how many had heard of “Lean”, a couple raised their hands; “Six Sigma” grabbed a few more, but “Theory of Constraints” – nada.