Virginia Mason Medical Center Case

1. What is Gary Kaplan trying to achieve at Virginia Mason?

Dr. Gary Kaplan was trying to achieve change at Virginia Mason. He envisioned the transformation of Virginia Mason Medical Center into the quality leader in health care and sought to lead the organization toward this vision. When Dr. Kaplan joined VMMC what attracted him to the medical field was a collaborative team approach and Virginia Masons’ unique culture that was created in the early 1900’s. With time VMMC started to face challenges, competition was fierce and VMMC soon began to experience financial troubles. In addition, its employees were unhappy and the staff morale around the hospital was declining. Kaplan noticed that …show more content…
When something new is being implemented it will most likely take some time to reap the benefits.

We believe that there are tangible benefits can be realized through the adaptation of the TPS model. Opponents argue the TPS system jeopardizes their autonomy and clinical creativity. However, the system adapted from TPS, actually seeks to maximize patient outcomes through the elimination of waste and efficiency improvements. In return freeing up more time for clinicians to spend with patients, families, or pursuing academic endeavors.

4. Is Kaplan’s approach transferable to other US hospitals?

We believe that Kaplan’s approach is transferable to other US hospitals. Proven results have been demonstrated especially for the oncology or cardiovascular units. I think that these two departments will seek the most benefits from Kaplan’s approach. This approach was already tried by The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and they saw benefits early on in the transition process. For instance, they applied TPS and they immediately saw a decrease in patient waiting time, patient registration, medical chart and having supplies available. If UPMC is able to switch to a manufacturing model, then any other US hospital will be able to do the same as long as they are able to modify the process to their environment and culture.

We believe VMMC was uniquely poised for success. The executives, board of directors,