
IN THE PAST DECADE, LEAN MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES HAVE EXPANDED TO THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
Although Lean was born in Toyota in the 1950s and 1960s, it was not until after 2000 that the first hospitals in the USA, Europe and Australia began to explore it. These pioneering organizations came together to share their stories at the first Global Lean Healthcare Summit in the UK in 2007, which in turn triggered many more experiments around the world. Since then, interest has grown very rapidly.