Lean and the Toyota Production System could not have arrived at a better time for most health care provider organizations. While some may doubt the value of employing automotive and manufacturing techniques in health care, visionary organizations all over the U.S. are reaping the benefits of Lean efforts with increased patient and physician satisfaction. Lean, with its process focused tools and methods, is proving to be an outstanding platform to drive towards new levels of patient safety. These organizations are also simultaneously experiencing increased revenue and rising employee morale.

However, the key to successful implementation of Lean health care understanding is intelligent leadership.Good leadership is the missing link between theoretical solutions and applications in practice.

Leading the Health Care Revolution Using the Toyota Production System - Lessons from the Frontline discusses the process of transformation and how it can be done to produce the kind of quality, safety, cost, and delivery standards that have lifted Toyota to unparalleled success. Written by the former president of the Virginia Mason Medical Center, the book relies on the experience of an executive who has led his organization through a highly successful lean transformation. J. Michael Rona walks the reader through the steps needed to start the journey, as well as the challenges encountered along the way. Not only does Mr. Rona give firsthand knowledge of the importance of leadership, he also provides readers with the example of an organization that has arrived to the other side of transformation, to a place where safe and higher quality products and services are expected and achieved, where workers function at the height of their abilities and the cost side of the revenue equation dramatically drops.