In the fast-paced world of healthcare, lean healthcare management is proving to be a game-changer, where efficiency and process improvement can mean the difference between life and death. In this episode of The Digital Adoption Show, Apoorva Pai, team lead at Whatfix, sits down with Julie Savage-Fournier, the founder of Kaizen Radical. Julie’s consulting firm has been transforming healthcare processes for over five years, leveraging lean practices and engineering expertise to improve healthcare efficiency.

Julie, who has over two decades of experience in healthcare, brings a unique blend of executive coaching and lean mastery to help healthcare teams navigate systemic roadblocks and unlock their full potential. In this article, we dive into Julie’s journey, her career-defining moments, and her expert insights into improving healthcare efficiency using lean principles. You can watch the video podcast here. 

The Journey from Engineer to Healthcare Consultant

Julie’s journey began as a manufacturing engineer, working in electronics. But soon, she found herself in healthcare, taking on a role in process improvement for ambulance services. Over time, her passion for process design and improving patient care led her to launch Kaizen Radical, a consulting firm focused on applying lean principles to healthcare.

In a heartwarming and inspiring moment, Julie shares how the death of her mother became a pivotal turning point in her life. “We had many discussions about her career and her regrets, and it made me think about what I would do if I wasn’t afraid,” Julie reflects. It was this deeply personal experience that inspired her to start her own company.

Lean Practices in Healthcare: From 20th Century to 21st Century

Julie’s work focuses on moving healthcare processes from outdated, 20th-century models to the modern, technology-driven landscape of the 21st century. Her recent work involved improving the efficiency of surgical suites by introducing new IT systems and processes designed to free up nurses to focus on patient care.

“The goal was to offload material handling from the nurses so they could focus on what they do best—caring for patients,” Julie explains. By incorporating lean principles like Kaizen and Kata, her team was able to optimize processes in a high-stakes environment where every minute counts.

Here’s how Julie and her team achieved success:

• Stabilization and improvement phases: After implementing new IT systems, Julie’s team spent four months stabilizing the system to account for real-world transaction volumes and user behavior. They then conducted a Kaizen event with logistics, sterilization, and surgical teams to redesign processes based on their findings.
• Meeting ambitious targets: Julie’s team faced the daunting challenge of getting back to full surgery capacity in just four months—a task that typically takes two years. Thanks to cross-functional collaboration and lean practices, they achieved their goal.

Focus on Purpose, Not Just Tools

When implementing lean principles in healthcare, Julie emphasizes the importance of focusing on the overall purpose rather than getting lost in the tools. “The purpose of lean is much more important than the actual tools we use. We need to make sure everyone agrees on the same goal,” Julie says.

Here are 14 additional process improvement methodologies.  

One of the key lessons Julie has learned is that healthcare improvements should focus on the patient and the value stream that supports patient care. “I wasn’t improving the logistics process for my department; I was improving the nurses’ and surgeons’ processes,” she explains. By prioritizing the needs of healthcare professionals, her team was able to optimize processes in ways that directly benefit patients.

The Power of Change Management in Healthcare

One of the biggest challenges Julie faced was implementing new processes and technology in a way that healthcare teams could embrace. Change management is critical in this context, and Julie’s approach focuses on listening and observing how people work before introducing any changes.

For example, nurses were accustomed to asking for supplies by colloquial names like “blue clip,” but the new ERP system didn’t recognize these terms. “We realized we couldn’t expect nurses to learn new part numbers, so we adapted our system to meet their needs,” Julie shares. By focusing on understanding how healthcare teams work, Julie was able to introduce changes that made their jobs easier.

Continuous Improvement and Lean Culture

After a project is completed, the real challenge is maintaining and building upon the improvements. For Julie, lean culture is about empowering every individual in the organization to contribute to problem-solving on a daily basis.

“If you don’t teach people how to solve problems, you’re relying on one brain to solve all the problems. By teaching my team how to problem-solve, we had 31 brains solving problems,” Julie says.

Her advice for healthcare organizations looking to implement lean principles:

• Teach managers to be coaches: Managers should coach their employees on how to solve problems, rather than just overseeing tasks.
• Empower employees to solve problems: Employees should feel empowered to make small improvements that eliminate daily friction points, improving overall efficiency.

Measuring Success in Healthcare

In healthcare, measuring success can be challenging, especially in non-profit, government-run settings where traditional financial metrics don’t apply. Julie uses a unique approach to measure the success of process improvements, focusing on the quality and quantity of care provided over a set budget.

For example, her team reduced material waste in surgeries by ensuring that extra supplies were delivered in a timely manner, allowing nurses to request only what they needed. “By reducing the quantity of materials prepared for surgery, we saved resources without compromising patient care,” Julie explains.

Conclusion: Lean Principles in Healthcare for Greater Efficiency Julie Savage-Fournier’s experience in applying lean principles to healthcare offers valuable insights for anyone looking to improve efficiency in high-stakes environments. From streamlining surgical suite processes to empowering healthcare teams to solve problems, her approach demonstrates the power of lean thinking in driving meaningful change.

As healthcare continues to evolve, professionals like Julie are leading the way in ensuring that process improvements lead to better patient outcomes and more efficient use of resources. Her advice to anyone in healthcare? “Align your career with your heart. Pursue a job that you’re passionate about and that allows you to make a difference in the lives of others.”

For more inspiring conversations with thought leaders like Julie, subscribe to The Digital Adoption Show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Three Actionable Takeaways:

1. Focus on the purpose: Always keep the end goal of patient care in mind when implementing process improvements.
2. Empower teams to problem-solve: Teach employees to solve problems on their own, making continuous improvement a daily activity.
3. Measure what matters: In healthcare, focus on improving the quality and quantity of care within a set budget, rather than relying solely on financial metrics.