Lean Laboratories: Competing with Methods From Toyota

Hospital laboratories throughout North America are successfully using "Lean" methods based on the Toyota Production System to win against multiple competitive threats. Sonic hospitals have used Lean to help eliminate point-of-care testing for the emergency department (ED). Other hospitals have used Lean to "insource" testing that had previously been done in outside reference laboratories. Lean can defend and protect employment for the laboratory, while also improving turnaround times and service for patients and reducing costs for the hospital. Hospital laboratories have also used freed up capacity to increase their reference laboratory work, bringing additional revenue to the hospital.