Applying the Toyota Production System to a Hospital Pharmacy

This paper presents the early results of an action research project to apply the principles of the Toyota Production System to a hospital pharmacy. We demonstrate that work systems can be improved through Bowen and Spear’s [3] Rules-in-Use: defining activities better, making simpler and more direct connections, and/or smoothing pathways. We also extend this work by introducing a problem-solving tool to facilitate process improvement. The paper will describe the interventions attempted, the results, and implications for applying the Rules-in-Use to health care environments.