IHI Case Study: Intel and Virginia Mason
Discussion questions based on Bisognano and Kenney; chapter 2, Intel and Virginia Mason Medical Center in Pursuing the Triple Aim
Who were Virginia Mason’s customers?
What was the tension for change at Virginia Mason?
How do providers, purchasers and payers each contribute to unnecessary health care costs? How does this inform the structure and function of a marketplace collaborative?
How do employers manage their purchase of services such asfacility maintenance, legal services or advertising? How does this differ from purchasing of health care?
How can we determine where to begin in reducing unnecessary costs?
What is health care quality? What is waste in health care?
What is a health care “product”?
How does the Toyota Production System reduce waste?
Why was Intel, a technology corporation,initially interested in the work at Virginia Mason, a non-profit health care provider?
What was the tension for change at Intel? Was Intel’s standing as an industry leader a strength or weakness in improving their core business? What was the effect of applying the tools of the Toyota Production System to lithography?
How did a highly-focused corporation like Intel develop an interest in health care?
What convinced Intel to engage with Virginia Mason?
Why was articulation of Guiding Principles and “Gives and Gets” important?
What did VM want from Intel? What did Intel want from VM? What were some of the features of the ideal state from Intel’s perspective?
What were some of the differences VM and Intel faced in replicating the Seattle model in Portland? Which made this work easier? Which made this work more difficult?
Was it difficult to recruit participants in Intel’s collaborative? Why not?
What were the concerns of providers and health plans as they considered how the Intel collaborative would change their practice? What were off-setting benefits?
How did Intel set priorities for the health care products they needed?
How did Intel define quality for the delivery of health care?
The five-day lean methods class for participants was costly? What was the value to participants?
How did Intel encourage Portland-area providers to accept clinical standards created by Virginia Mason? How did the Intel collaborative encourage Virginia Mason to change their standardized patient care pathway?
Both Intel and Virginia Mason use large wall-mounted drawings, or “maps” to illustrate the flow of processes. How might this approach speed implementation?
Was the Intel collaborative successful? By what measurement standard?