Better Care By Design

Healthcare organizations worldwide partner with us to transform care delivery, elevate the patient experience, strengthen quality and safety, and sustain excellence for the long term.
Better Care By Design
Our Clients Map

Serving Healthcare Organizations Around the World

From academic medical centers to community hospitals and health systems, we partner with organizations committed to improving patient outcomes, strengthening culture, and building management systems that support excellence every day.

Why Organizations Partner With Virginia Mason Institute

Healthcare systems everywhere face growing complexity—rising costs, workforce strain, access challenges, and increasing expectations for safety and experience. Solving these challenges requires more than incremental fixes. It requires new ways of leading, learning, and improving.

From academic medical centers to community hospitals and health systems, we help healthcare leaders and teams improve how care is delivered — safely, reliably, and sustainably. Through education, coaching, and long-term partnerships, we support organizations globally in implementing a proven management methodology grounded in continuous improvement and respect for people.

68%
Faster Access to Care

Referral delays reduced by 68% through redesigned pathways that improve coordination, eliminate waste, and speed access to care.

85%
Results Patients Can Feel

Lab result turnaround times reduced by 85%, enabling faster communication, better clinical decisions, and improved patient experience.

63%
Efficiency That Frees Capacity

Surgery and anesthesia readiness times reduced by up to 63%, increasing throughput while improving reliability and team performance.

77%
Less Waiting. More Value.

Outpatient record processing times cut by 77% through standardized workflows and visual management.

Proven Results in Improving Care
Outcomes

Proven Results in Improving Care

Across healthcare systems worldwide, we help organizations achieve measurable improvements in quality, safety, patient experience, and financial performance by building systems that sustain improvement and keep patients at the center of care.

Increased patient visits by almost 40%
Increased patient visits by almost 40%

Using the Virginia Mason Institute 3P approach, one examination room was eliminated while patient visits increased from 37,607 to 52,261 at Virginia Mason Bainbridge Island.

Average length of stay reduced by 2 days
Average length of stay reduced by 2 days

By applying improvement methods, the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust reduced average length of stay by 30%.

Reduced proportions of harmful incidents
Reduced proportion of harmful incidents

Through focused improvement efforts, the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust reduced the proportion of harmful incidents from 19.2% to 15.9%.

Cost savings post VMPS implementation
Cost savings post VMPS® implementation

Following implementation of VMPS, the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust moved from a £100 million deficit in year one to break-even in year two—and achieved a £19 million surplus by year six.

Top 5 in job satisfaction
Top 5 in job satisfaction

As a result of sustained improvement efforts, the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust ranked among the top five NHS trusts in England for overall staff job satisfaction.

Reduction in cancellations
Reduction in cancellations

Through targeted process improvements, St. Anne Hospital achieved an 86% reduction in outpatient diagnostic imaging cancellations due to authorization defects, enabling 9,000 additional exams.

Mistake-Proofing Primary Care
FEATURED CASE STUDIES

Mistake-Proofing Primary Care

Start Your Lean Health Care Journey Learn More Problem Virginia Mason recognized that mistakes and defects in health care not ...
Why a Midwest Health System Went to Virginia Mason Institute for Help
“The fact that Virginia Mason is driven by the same purpose we are – serving patients and communities – helped them understand us ...
Managing Phone Calls in Primary Care
Problem Responding to patient phone calls at Virginia Mason consumed a great deal of clinic time and was not reimbursed. The ...
About Us
About Us

Partners in Better Care

We partner with organizations around the world to transform how healthcare is delivered, helping leaders and teams close the gap between intention and impact. Drawing on decades of real-world experience across diverse healthcare systems, we work side by side with organizations to improve quality and safety, strengthen patient and staff experience, and achieve measurable, lasting results. Our approach is grounded in practical application, ensuring improvements show up not just in strategy documents, but in daily work where care is delivered.

Our work goes beyond tools and tactics to support the deeper changes that make improvement stick. We help organizations build leadership capability, develop effective management systems, and foster cultures where continuous improvement is part of everyday practice. By aligning leaders, engaging frontline teams, and reinforcing a shared commitment to putting patients first, we enable healthcare organizations to sustain improvement over time and continually adapt to meet the evolving needs of the people they serve.

Services

Building Systems That Sustain Improvement


From assessment to transformation, our services help organizations align leaders, engage teams, and build management systems that sustain improvement, quality, and better patient outcomes.

Transformation Partnerships
Transformation Partnerships
Transformation Partnerships

A multi-year partnership that builds leadership capability, embeds the VMI methodology, and drives systemwide cultural and performance transformation beyond one-time improvement efforts.

Jumpstart Engagement
Jumpstart Engagement
Jumpstart Engagement

A focused engagement that aligns leaders, introduces core improvement concepts, and applies VMPS® methods to a real challenge—creating momentum and a clear roadmap for next steps.

Readiness Diagnostic
Readiness Diagnostic
Readiness Diagnostic

A structured assessment of leadership, culture, systems, and capabilities that identifies strengths, gaps, and risks to deliver actionable insights that guide your improvement strategy.

Leadership Summit & Retreat
Leadership Summit & Retreats
Leadership Summit & Retreats

Custom summits and retreats that create space for strategic reflection, shared learning, and dialogue, helping leaders align on vision, priorities, and behaviors that sustain transformation.

Study Tours & Trips
Study Tours & Trips
Study Tours & Trips

An opportunity for healthcare executives, physicians, and leaders to experience an intensive, hands-on learning journey that deepens understanding of lean systems, kaizen, and the Toyota Production System, with visits to factories, lectures, and genba (workplace) applications. 

Executive Development & Coaching
Executive Development & Coaching
Executive Development & Coaching

Personalized coaching and development that strengthens executive behaviors, builds improvement capability, and helps leaders apply VMI principles to real organizational challenges.

Board Development & Coaching
Board Development & Coaching
Board Development & Coaching

Targeted education and coaching that equips boards to oversee quality, safety, and performance, enabling informed governance that supports continuous improvement and long-term results.

GET IN TOUCH

Start a Conversation

Complete the form below to connect with VMI experts and start a conversation about your challenges, priorities, and opportunities for last healthcare improvement. 

Selected Resources

Insights That Drive Improvement

Selected resources designed to help leaders and teams improve quality, safety, patient experience, and operational performance.

Mistake-Proofing Primary Care

Mistake-Proofing Primary Care

Start Your Lean Health Care Journey Learn More Problem Virginia Mason recognized that mistakes and ...

Read More about Mistake-Proofing Primary Care
Mistake-Proofing Primary Care

Start Your Lean Health Care Journey Learn More Problem Virginia Mason recognized that mistakes and ...

Why a Midwest Health System Went to Virginia ...

Why a Midwest Health System Went to Virginia ...

“The fact that Virginia Mason is driven by the same purpose we are – serving patients and ...

Read More about Why a Midwest Health System Went to Virginia ...
Why a Midwest Health System Went to Virginia Mason Institute for Help

“The fact that Virginia Mason is driven by the same purpose we are – serving patients and ...

Managing Phone Calls in Primary Care

Managing Phone Calls in Primary Care

Problem Responding to patient phone calls at Virginia Mason consumed a great deal of clinic time ...

Read More about Managing Phone Calls in Primary Care
Managing Phone Calls in Primary Care

Problem Responding to patient phone calls at Virginia Mason consumed a great deal of clinic time ...