Video Library

With more than 150 titles, the Open School video library offers quick instruction on a wide range of health care improvement topics. Every video comes with discussion questions, learning objectives, and a facilitator guide so you can deepen the learning in a group setting.​​​

New Releases
The Model for Improvement (Part 2)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
The Model for Improvement (Part 1)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
The Science of Improvement on a Whiteboard!
Dr. Robert Lloyd, Vice President at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, explains the key elements of the Science of Improvement using a white board in these short videos.
How Can Providers Help Create Health Equity?
Dr. Don Berwick talks about where health providers can start in promoting health equity.
Why Does Health Equity Matter to You?
Dr. Don Berwick discusses why health equity is important to him personally.
What One Thing Would You Do to Create Health Equity?
Health disparities expert David R. Williams discusses the most important change that could create health equity.
How Can Health Care Promote Health Equity?
Health disparities expert David R. Williams discusses the role of health care and other factors to create health equity.
How Can Providers Reduce Unconscious Bias?
Health disparities expert David R. Williams discusses promising strategies to reduce implicit bias against people of color and other minority groups.
Does Racism Play a Role in Health Inequities?
Health disparities expert David R. Williams explains how racism — including implicit bias — plays a role in health inequities.
Why Haven’t We Made More Progress on Health Equity?
Health disparities expert David R. Williams explains the progress and challenges in reducing health inequities in the United States.

Improvement Capability
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The Model for Improvement (Part 2)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
The Model for Improvement (Part 1)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
The Science of Improvement on a Whiteboard!
Dr. Robert Lloyd, Vice President at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, explains the key elements of the Science of Improvement using a white board in these short videos.
QI Games: How Do You Measure the Banana?
Choosing and defining your measures might sound easy, but those two tasks cause problems for improvement teams all the time.
QI Games: Learn How to Use PDSA Cycles by Spinning Coins
You may have thought your coin spinning days ended in grade school, but it turns out the activity can help you learn about theories, predictions, and PDSA cycles.
QI Games: Learning about Variation by Counting Candy
Understanding variation is critical when you’re working to improve a process or system. In this activity, you’ll learn to distinguish between two types of variation: common cause and special cause. (And you’ll get to eat candy!)
QI Games: The Red Bead Experiment
W. Edwards Deming, one of the founders of modern quality improvement, invented the famous Red Bead Experiment to illustrate how typical managers try — and fail — to improve quality.
Priority Matrix: An Overlooked Gardening Tool
Don Goldmann is a well-known physician, educator, and … gardener? In this short video, Goldmann invites us into his home garden and uses a priority matrix — a useful tool in any improvement work — to determine which types of kale he plans to grow next year.
Cause and Effect Diagram
Robert Lloyd, IHI Vice President, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Control Charts (Part 2)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Control Charts (Part 1)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Run Charts (Part 2)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Run Charts (Part 1)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
PDSA Cycles (Part 1)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
PDSA Cycles (Part 2)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Why Does Health Care Need Improvement Science?
David Williams shares why the will to change, alone, is not enough to create change — and presents the ambulance industry as an example.
How Can QI Concepts Help in Your Daily Life?
Dr. James Moses, IHI Open School Academic Advisor, talks about using improvement methodology in his personal life.
How Do You Find the Right Mentor?
Are you making the most of your mentor? Don Goldmann, MD, IHI’s Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, shares some valuable lessons from his three decades as a mentor to students and fellows.
Is There a Secret to Sustaining Improvements?
After a successful improvement project, it’s important to celebrate and start thinking about how to spread your knowledge. But how can you make sure the improvement you’ve made sticks?
How Can Mr. Potato Head Help Teach PDSA?
David Williams explains the genesis of the Mr. Potato Head exercise he created to teach audiences all over the world about PDSA cycles.
Why Is Planning Such an Important Part of PDSA?
Plan. Do. Study Act. All four are necessary to complete a PDSA cycle. In this IHI Open School Short, Improvement Advisor David Williams explains why he thinks planning is such a valuable component of any learning cycle.
What Are Rules for Doing Concurrent PDSA Cycles?
Improvement can be slow and methodical, and sometimes it makes sense to test two changes at the same time. What should you keep in mind in these situations?
What’s an Easy Way to Learn about PDSA Cycles?
David Williams explains different ways to learn about improvement by doing it.
How Do You Move Logically Toward Implementation?
David Williams discusses how to thoughtfully move toward implementation within a system.
What Are Seven Ways to Engage Clinicians in QI?
One of the biggest challenges of improving quality within health care is engaging clinicians in the work. Clinicians have demanding schedules, high stress levels, and pressure from payers and accreditors. IHI's Dr. Don Goldmann shares how you can you inspire these busy colleagues to join your improvement work.
Why Should You Start Testing Changes ASAP?
Lloyd Provost, co-author of the Improvement Guide, shares why it’s so important in an improvement project to start testing changes as soon as you can.
What’s the Secret to Change Implementation?
Lloyd Provost, co-author of the Improvement Guide, discusses the secrets to implementing change.
How Long Should a PDSA Cycle Last?
You know PDSAs are rapid tests of change. But what, exactly, is a good length of time for a Plan-Do-Study-Act test cycle? Learn from Lloyd Provost, co-author of the Improvement Guide.
How Do Visual Tools Help Improvement?
Lloyd Provost, co-author of the Improvement Guide, shares how visual tools can help us understand the systems in which we live and work.
How Can CLABSIs and Cucumbers Teach PDSA?
In a new IHI Open School Video Short, IHI's Dr. Don Goldmann explains the science behind the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle, using central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) and cucumbers as his subjects.
How Can Young Professionals Get Involved in QI?
Dr. James Moses, IHI Open School Academic Advisor, gives young professionals advice on how to become leaders of quality improvement.
What’s the Difference Between Research and QI?
Dr. James Moses, IHI Open School Academic Advisor, explains how improvement and research methodology can contribute differently toward the same cause.
How Can QI Bring Clinical Colleagues Together?
Dr. James Moses, IHI Open School Academic Advisor, talks about the value of QI for building closer relationships among clinical colleagues.
What’s An Example of Using QI to Change Behavior?
Dr. James Moses, IHI Open School Academic Advisor, shares a story of using quality improvement to change the treatment of patients with sickle cell disease.
Is the Buzz about Innovation Worth the Hype?
Dr. Kedar Mate explains why innovation has become a hot topic in health care.
What Are the Phases of IHI Innovation Projects?
Dr. Kedar Mate offers an example of the phases of an innovation project at IHI.
How Do Innovation and Improvement Differ?
Dr. Kedar Mate explains the difference between innovation and improvement.
How Can You Incorporate Innovation in Daily Work?
Dr. Kedar Mate explains clinicians can develop the ability to generate ideas for improvement.
What Are IHI’s Secrets to Innovation?
Dr. Kedar Mate explains how the Institute for Healthcare Improvement approaches innovation in health care.
How Does Lean Compare to IHI's Approach to QI?
IHI’s Kevin Little discusses the differences and similarities between Lean and IHI’s approach to quality improvement.
What’s One Question to Engage Physicians in QI?
IHI's Dr. Don Goldmann shares the one question you should ask physicians when you want to engage them in improvement work.
How Do You Use a Driver Diagram?
A driver diagram, explains Don Goldmann, MD, IHI’s Chief Medical and Scientific officer, is a “simple, visual, somewhat intuitive display to help you understand where you’re going with your work.” Goldmann’s latest Open School Short explains the purpose and value of a driver diagram — a tool that can help you with anything from losing weight to protecting your patients from infection
How Can Organizations Engage Providers in QI?
Dr. Marilu Bintz explains why organizations sometimes fail to engage physicians in quality improvement and offers an alternative strategy.
Why Should Patients be Part of Improvement Work?
Dr. Marilu Bintz explains why health care organizations should engage patients in improvement and tells the story of how Gundersen Health System started engaging patients to make care safer.
How Do You Involve Patients in Improvement?
Patient and Family Advisory Councils are critical to improving care. But they take time to develop. What can you do today to involve patients in improvement?
How Do People Sustain Their Enthusiasm for QI?
Improvement Advisor David Williams talks about the hard work — and potential rewards — associated with quality improvement.
What Are Must-Read Health Care Improvement Books?
Dr. James Moses, IHI Open School Academic Advisor, shares a few books that got him started on his health care improvement journey.
What Do We Mean by Measurement for Judgment?
In a new IHI Open School short, Don Goldmann, MD, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer at IHI, discusses five ways measurement for judgment is used within health care.

Patient Safety
What Is the Goal of Reliable Design? (Part 3 of 5)
IHI Executive Director Frank Federico explains the goal behind reliable design — and why capability is just as important as reliability.
How Can You Make Processes Reliable? (Part 2 of 5)
IHI Executive Director Frank Federico discusses steps you can take to make your processes more reliable.
What Is Reliability? (Part 1 of 5)
IHI Executive Director Frank Federico provides an introduction to reliability, including a definition, some examples, and components of IHI’s proven methodology.
The Patient and the Anesthesiologist
Linda Kenney went into the hospital for an ankle replacement. She came out with a host of complications resulting from a mistake that no one was willing to admit. Until Rick van Pelt, MD, her anesthesiologist, stepped forward. In this three-part video case study, you’ll find out what happened in the immediate aftermath of the surgery, watch Kenney and van Pelt describe their first meeting after the surgery, and watch Kathy Duncan, RN, and Don Berwick, MD, analyze the case.
Why Is Reducing Harm — Not Just Error — Important to Patient Safety?
Dr. David Bates, a world renowned patient safety expert, explains why the field of patient safety has shifted from reducing error to also encompass efforts to reduce harm.
Why Is Psychological Safety So Important in Health Care?
Why is psychological safety in health care so important? In a short video, Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, describes four specific outcomes associated with a psychologically safe work environment.
Three Ways to Create Psychological Safety in Health Care
How can leaders ― with or without formal authority ― create psychological safety in health care? In a short video, Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, describes three key actions to foster a psychologically safe work environment.
What Happened to Josie?
In 2001, 18-month-old Josie King died of dehydration and a wrongly-administered narcotic at Johns Hopkins Hospital. How did this happen? Her mother, Sorrel King, tells the story and explains how Josie’s death spurred her to work on improving patient safety in hospitals everywhere.
Why Do Errors Happen? How Can We Prevent Them?
Millions of people suffer every year from mistakes in health care. Lucian Leape explains why those mistakes happen — and how to prevent them.
How Can Data Drive Reliability? (Part 5 of 5)
IHI Executive Director Frank Federico discusses the role of measurement and the role of leadership in achieving reliable designs.
Why Do You Need a Back-Up Plan? (Part 4 of 5)
IHI Executive Director Frank Federico discusses why and when to create a back-up plan for a reliable process.
How Can Disruptive Behavior Be Harmful?
Physician Kevin Stewart explains how he accidentally hurt a patient when he was trying to avoid a confrontation with his foul-tempered supervisor. He offers advice for people who find themselves on the receiving end of disrespectful behavior.
How Do You Apologize After a Medical Error?
When you make a mistake that affects a patient, what should you say? Should you apologize, or will that put you at greater risk of being sued? Lucian Leape, MD, Adjunct Professor of Health Policy at the Harvard School of Public Health, describes how to talk with patients and families after a mistake has occurred.
What Is a Culture of Safety?
Dr. David Bates, a world-renowned patient safety expert, describes a culture of safety and what organizations can do to foster it.
What Can a Zoo Teach Health Care about Patient Safety?
Kathy Duncan goes behind the scenes to learn about the Central Florida Zoo's safety procedures for handling snakes.
Why Should Providers Talk to Patients after Adverse Events?
Lewis Blackman, a healthy 15-year-old boy, died in 2000 after an elective surgery. In this video, Helen Haskell, his mother, explains why providers should communicate with patients and families after adverse events.
What Is the Long-Term Impact of Adverse Events on Patients?
Lewis Blackman, a healthy 15-year-old boy, died in 2000 after an elective surgery. In this video, Helen Haskell, his mother, gives an example of the long-term impact of adverse events on patients and families.
Why Don’t Providers Always Communicate with Patients after Adverse Events?
Lewis Blackman, a healthy 15-year-old boy, died in 2000 after an elective surgery. In this video, Helen Haskell, his mother, explains why communication isn’t always the norm after adverse events, and why this dynamic is changing.
What Is Your Advice for Providers about Communicating with Patients After Adverse Events?
Lewis Blackman, a healthy 15-year-old boy, died in 2000 after an elective surgery. In this video, Helen Haskell, his mother, offers advice for providers who are involved in adverse events about how they should communicate with patients and families.
Why Patient Safety Is at the Top of the List
In 2001, the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine (IOM) laid out six dimensions of quality for health care. According to the IOM, care should be safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable. Carol Haraden, patient safety expert, tells us why safety is at the top of that list.
Josie's Story
Eighteen-month-old Josie King died from medical errors incurred at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Her mother, Sorrel King, later worked with hospitals to develop a way for patients and their families to summon a Rapid Response Team to the bedside within minutes.
What Is It Like to Experience a Medical Error?
Get an inside look at a patient's perspective through the personal story of Linda Kenney, President of Medically Induced Trauma Support Services.

Person- and Family-Centered Care
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How Can Shadowing Make Care More Patient-Centered?
In a short video interview, Anthony M. DiGioia, MD, pioneer in patient- and family-centered care, explains why it’s time to think like your patients.
What If We Flipped the Patient Discharge Process?
At Sheffield Teaching Hospitals in the United Kingdom, an improver came up with the idea of assessing frail elder patients’ needs in patients’ homes instead of at the hospital. One PDSA cycle led to another, and another. Eventually, 10,000 patients got home 3 to 4 days faster in one year.
How Have Computers Changed Patient-Provider Relationships?
In a new video, patient safety expert Dr. Bob Wachter explores how computers have changed patient-provider relationships.
What Are the Dangers of Alert Fatigue?
In a new IHI Open School short, patient safety expert Dr. Bob Wachter talks about the dangers of alert fatigue in health care.
What If We Gave Patients the Skills and Knowledge to Care for Themselves?
Long wait times in emergency departments was one of the problems. Giving underinsured or uninsured patients the skills (and the option) to care for themselves turned out to be an innovative solution.
How Can Patients and Providers See Eye to Eye?
In a new video, “Diabetes Evangelist” Trevor Torres discusses why patients sometimes feel disconnected from their providers.
What Is Shared Decision Making?
Victor Montori, MD, MSc, a Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is pioneering the concept of shared decision making. What is shared decision making and how can it improve care for patients? Dr. Montori, a special interest keynote speaker at this year’s IHI National Forum in December, explains.
What Are Two Ways Organizations Can Improve Patient Visits?
In a new video, “Diabetes Evangelist” Trevor Torres shares two ways organizations can use technology to improve the patient experience.
How Can a Comic Book Help Patients with Diabetes?
In a new video, “Diabetes Evangelist” Trevor Torres talks about a comic book he helped create to educate young patients about diabetes.
Why Does Trevor Recommend Type 1 Diabetes?
In this video, patient Trevor Torres shares four things. He gives two reasons why he’d recommend type 1 diabetes to anyone and two pieces of practical advice for health care providers.
How Do Targeted Programs Help All Patients?
Deputy Director of fthe Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, Aswita Tan-McGrory, shares through an example why targeted programs can improve care for all patients.
What Does Coordinated Care Look Like?
In this video, IHI’s President Emeritus and Senior Fellow Don Berwick, MD, MPP, tells the story of seeing a 4-year-old boy with acute asthma. What followed was “music” to Berwick.
What Is Lauren's List?
Sally Sampson talks about the creation of Lauren's List, four simple rules her young daughter had for clinicians.
How Does a Hospital Involve Patients in Design?
Take a look inside Cincinnati Children’s Hospital as its clinicians learn how to make the valuable — but challenging — transition to a truly patient-centered environment.
Why Are Patient Stories Valuable in Health Care?
IHI’s Martha Hayward talks about how to tell powerful patient stories.
How Can Health Care Workers Inspire Patients?
Gilbert Salinas, Director of Patient-Centered Care at a rehabilitation center in California, talks about the compassionate health care professionals that inspired his career path.
How Do You Communicate a Disappointing Outcome?
Dr. Michael Haglund demonstrates the right and wrong way to communicate a disappointing outcome to patients and families.
How Can We Improve Care for Older Patients?
Clinical Nurse Specialist Connie Davis says her career caring for the elderly has been “an amazing gift.” Learn how practicing patient-centered care with seniors can enrich both your life and their health outcomes.
What Would You Do to Improve Health Care?
In our first “Blue Shirt on the Street” video, we ask people about the one thing they would do to improve health care.
Maureen Bisognano, Why Health Care Improvement?
IHI’s former president and CEO shares how the compassion of one physician inspired her to pursue a career in health care improvement.
Why Should Patients be Part of Improvement Work?
Dr. Marilu Bintz explains why health care organizations should engage patients in improvement and tells the story of how Gundersen Health System started engaging patients to make care safer.
What Is an ‘Always Event’?
IHI Senior Faculty Barbara Balik defines an “Always Event” and explains how the concept is evolving.
What Are the Barriers to Partnering with Patients?
IHI Senior Faculty Barbara Balik explains why partnering with patients can be difficult for providers and organizations.
Do Providers Feel Threatened by Patients?
Barbara Balik discusses why the demands of health care can limit providers’ ability to connect with patients and how we can improve.
How Do You Involve Patients in Improvement?
Patient and Family Advisory Councils are critical to improving care. But they take time to develop. What can you do today to involve patients in improvement?
How Can Providers Elicit Patient Perspectives and Respond with Empathy?
Dr. Calvin Chou demonstrates how providers can elicit patient perspectives and respond with empathy.
How Do You Build a Shared Agenda with Patients?
Dr. Calvin Chou displays strategies for creating a shared agenda during patient appointments.
How Can the Teach-Back Method Improve Outcomes?
Dr. Calvin Chou demonstrates how to use teach-back, a simple method to confirm and reinforce the patient’s understanding of important information.
How Can You Build Quick Rapport with Patients?
Dr. Calvin Chou displays strategies for building quick connections at the beginning of patient appointments.
How Do You Apologize After a Medical Error?
When you make a mistake that affects a patient, what should you say? Should you apologize, or will that put you at greater risk of being sued? Lucian Leape, MD, Adjunct Professor of Health Policy at the Harvard School of Public Health, describes how to talk with patients and families after a mistake has occurred.
Why Use the Term “Cultural Humility”?
Dr. Beth Averbeck explains cultural humility and how HealthPartners works to incorporate it in care.
Why Should Patients Have Input in Care Design?
IHI Senior Faculty Barbara Balik explains how the input of patients and families can create excellent programs and save money.
Is There a List of ‘Always Events’?
Barbara Balik discusses the evolving list of “Always Events” in health care.
How Do You Partner with an Unengaged Patient?
More and more, health care providers are trying to partner with patients to ensure care helps meet their health goals. But what happens when the patient isn’t interested in working with you?
What Is “Ask, Tell, Ask”?
Connie Davis, Co-Director at Centre for Collaboration, Motivation, and Innovation, explains how “Ask, Tell, Ask” can improve health outcomes.
How Long Does It Take to Use Patient-Centered Communication?
Connie Davis, Co-Director of the Centre for Collaboration, Motivation, and Innovation, explains how much time it takes to use techniques like “Ask, Tell, Ask,” teach-back, and brief action planning.
What Is Teach-Back?
Connie Davis, Co-Director at Centre for Collaboration, Motivation, and Innovation, explains how teach-back can improve health outcomes.
What Is Motivational Interviewing?
Connie Davis, Co-Director at Centre for Collaboration, Motivation, and Innovation, explains how motivational interviewing can help guide patients to make decisions that matter to them.
How Can Self-Care Dialysis Improve Outcomes?
Health care providers often talk about the need for patients to be more engaged in their care. Training patients to perform their own dialysis gives them more control over their health and their time, says Dr. Richard Gibney.
What Is It Like to Experience a Medical Error?
Get an inside look at a patient's perspective through the personal story of Linda Kenney, President of Medically Induced Trauma Support Services.
Escape Fire: Don Berwick National Forum Address
IHI's Dr. Don Berwick tells the story of his wife's difficult journey through the health care system.
How to Get a Job at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
For years, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital has been keenly focused on making care more effective and patient-centered. Uma Kotagal, the hospital’s senior vice president for quality and transformation, explains what that looks like in practice – and what it takes to work at her hospital.
Why Shouldn’t Providers Judge Patients’ Choices?
For patients suffering from chronic diseases and social disadvantage, good relationships with providers make a big difference. But health care sometimes describes such patients as “non-compliant” or “difficult.”
How Do You Avoid Burnout in Serving Underserved Patients?
These days, providers in many health care settings are feeling burned out. What about providers who work with underserved patients, who face greater barriers to good health than other patients?

Triple Aim for Populations
How Can Providers Help Create Health Equity?
Dr. Don Berwick talks about where health providers can start in promoting health equity.
Why Does Health Equity Matter to You?
Dr. Don Berwick discusses why health equity is important to him personally.
What One Thing Would You Do to Create Health Equity?
Health disparities expert David R. Williams discusses the most important change that could create health equity.
How Can Health Care Promote Health Equity?
Health disparities expert David R. Williams discusses the role of health care and other factors to create health equity.
How Can Providers Reduce Unconscious Bias?
Health disparities expert David R. Williams discusses promising strategies to reduce implicit bias against people of color and other minority groups.
Does Racism Play a Role in Health Inequities?
Health disparities expert David R. Williams explains how racism — including implicit bias — plays a role in health inequities.
Why Haven’t We Made More Progress on Health Equity?
Health disparities expert David R. Williams explains the progress and challenges in reducing health inequities in the United States.
What Is Health Equity, and Why Does It Matter?
In this short video, health disparities expert David Williams defines health equity and the impact of health disparities on people of color.
What Is an Age-Friendly Health System?
The number of older adults, individuals age 65 and older, in the United States is growing rapidly. And as we age, care often becomes more complex. Health systems frequently are not prepared for this complexity, and older adults suffer a disproportionate amount of harm while in the care of the health system.
Re-envisioning Care for People with Involved Disabilities: Benefits and Challenges of Home-Based Primary Care
Providers and patients explore the importance of expanding primary care beyond the walls of the clinic, particularly when it comes to reaching people with involved disabilities.
Re-envisioning Care for People with Involved Disabilities: Creating Culture Change
Patients and providers share how the traditional medical model puts the clinician at the center, whereas the needs of a person living with disabilities is better met by an independent living model built around them. We’ll explore how one practice infused the values and principles of independent living into daily practice by embedding them in hiring, orientation, training, and coaching.
Re-envisioning Care for People with Involved Disabilities: Redesigning Primary Care
Anna, a woman who has become increasingly debilitated and isolated. The failure of the traditional medical system to respond to Anna’s needs is contrasted with a team-based approach in which home-based primary care is combined with an array of critical services that address her medical, social, behavioral, and physical functioning needs.
Re-envisioning Care for People with Involved Disabilities: Shifting the Paradigm
People with involved disabilities share the barriers they face in accessing primary care in traditional settings. The foundation for building a primary care delivery system that is accessible and responsive, they’ll explain, requires a different set of values.
What If You Take a Complex Clinical Challenge to the Community?
Solving the challenge of a high stillbirth rate in Scotland is not simply about getting obstetricians to improve. “It’s a multidisciplinary problem,” says Jason Leitch.
What Is Bias, and What Can Medical Professionals Do to Address It?
Anurag Gupta, founder and CEO of Be More America, offers training to health care providers on how to overcome implicit bias.
What Are the Harms of Not Addressing Bias in Health Care?
Implicit bias is an unconscious pattern of thought that disadvantages certain groups of people based on negative stereotypes. It can harm patients in the course of health care delivery, and it harms the health care industry.
How Does Implicit Bias Affect Health Care?
Implicit bias is an unconscious pattern of thought that can disadvantage people of color and people from other marginalized groups. How does it affect health care?
Why Work with Underserved Populations?
IHI Senior Technical Director Dr. Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey explains how quality improvement can bring significant change to health care in low-income communities.
Why Should Health Systems Address Social Needs?
Deputy Director of the Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, Aswita Tan-McGrory discusses why health systems need to address social needs.
Why Does Health Equity Matter?
In this video, Dr. Reede explains how health equity relates to the role of health care providers, describes how privilege affects discussions of health equity, and offers advice to students and professionals who are interested in working to reduce disparities between populations.
Why Should Clinicians Focus on Population Health?
Holly Oh, a pediatrician at The Dimock Center in Boston, looks back on a memorable patient encounter from almost a decade ago.
How Can We Define “Quality” in Health Care?
In this video, IHI’s Former CEO Don Berwick describes a 2001 report by the Institute of Medicine, Crossing the Quality Chasm, that laid the foundation for health care reform in the United States and spread around the world.
How Can Asset Mapping Improve Community Health?
Dr. Marilu Bintz explains how asset mapping can help health care organizations improve community health.
How Does HealthPartners Reduce Health Disparities?
Dr. Beth Averbeck explains HealthPartners’ strategy for reducing ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic disparities in care.
Why Is It Important to Reduce Disparities?
Dr. Beth Averbeck explains why HealthPartners works to reduce racial and economic disparities between patient populations.
What Is an “Upstreamist” in Health Care?
In a new IHI Open School short, Rishi Manchanda, MD, MPH, Founder of HealthBegins, uses a parable to explain why we need more “upstreamists” in health care.
Mistrust of the Health System
Mistrust of health care systems is one of the causes of health care inequities in the United States. In this video, Rev. Bobby Baker explains what drives this mistrust.
How Can Organizations and Communities Partner?
Marilu Bintz, MD, MBA, FACS; Vice President of Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, Wisconsin

Quality, Cost, and Value
How Can Primary Care Be More Fulfilling?
Primary care suffers from a lot of problems, says physician executive Douglas Eby. Clinicians often have to work too quickly to get to know their patients, which makes for unfulfilling work and an ineffective care model. At Anchorage-based Alaska Native Medical Center, however, things are different.
Why Is Providing Better Care at a Lower Cost So Important Right Now?
Neel Shah, MD, MPP, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, has been passionate about reducing costs and waste in the health care system since he started practicing. Why has the time come for value-based care? And what’s one easy way to identify waste in a system?
How Can You Apply Clinical Skills to QI?
MIT senior lecturer and IHI Senior Fellow Steve Spear explains why he thinks seven steps needed to care for patients are essentially the same as those needed to fix systems of care. He also shares common trouble areas and gives an example of a successful improvement.
Can Equitable Care Improve the Bottom Line?
Deputy Director of the Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, Aswita Tan-McGrory, explains the business case for addressing health care disparities.
How Can Clinicians Balance Overuse and Fears of Litigation?
Neel Shah, MD, MPP, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, has been passionate about reducing costs and waste in the health care system since he started practicing. Why has the time come for value-based care? And what’s one easy way to identify waste in a system?
How Can You Identify and Confront Workarounds?
What are workarounds? Why are they bad? How do we avoid them? MIT senior lecturer and IHI Senior Fellow Steve Spear explains.
Escape Fire: Two Stories about US Health Care
In this clip* from Escape Fire: A Fight to Rescue American Healthcare, you will hear about two patients trying to navigate the US health care system.

Leadership
Four Steps Leaders Can Take to Increase Joy in Work
Jessica Perlo, MPH, a Director at IHI, shares four steps leaders can take to help their staff find joy and meaning in their work.
How to Get Ready for “What Matters to You?” Conversations
The first step to improving joy in work and addressing burnout is for leaders to engage colleagues to identify what matters to them in their work. These three actions will get you ready.
How Do You Find the Right Mentor?
Are you making the most of your mentor? Don Goldmann, MD, IHI’s Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, shares some valuable lessons from his three decades as a mentor to students and fellows.
When Do You Discuss Money in a Job Interview?
Paul Levy gives concrete advice on when (and how) to talk about money when interviewing for a job.
Other than Pay, What Can a Job Seeker Negotiate?
Paul Levy discusses how to move the focus away from money in a job negotiation.
Should You Ever Accept the First Job Offer?
Paul Levy explores the tricky decision of whether to accept an initial job offer.
How Can Writing Make You a Better Leader?
IHI Senior Technical Director Dr. Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey explains how writing can improve your communication skills.
What’s the secret to running effective meetings?
Pozen, the author of Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours, shares practical tips on when to call a meeting, how to prepare for a meeting, and how to effectively lead a meeting.
What’s the Secret to Running Effective Meetings?
MIT lecturer Bob Pozen, the author of Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours, shares practical tips on when to call a meeting, how to prepare for a meeting, and how to effectively lead a meeting.
What's the Role of Social Media in Health Care?
Paul Levy, the former CEO and President of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, writes a blog called Not Running a Hospital that gets about 10,000 visitors every day. In this two-part video series, we learn how Levy got involved in blogging, how his blog promoted transparency at his hospital, and tips for success in social media.
How Can Young Professionals Get Involved in QI?
Dr. James Moses, IHI Open School Academic Advisor, gives young professionals advice on how to become leaders of quality improvement.
Are Women Less Likely to Negotiate a Job Offer?
Paul Levy shares two reasons why society can make salary negotiations difficult for women and one strategy both genders can use to improve their bargaining power.
What Should You Do when a Salary Offer Is Low?
Paul Levy shares advice on how you can respond when a salary offer is lower than you expected.
Why Are People Hesitant to Negotiate a Job Offer?
Paul Levy discusses three common reasons why people are hesitant to negotiate a job offer.
How Can You Become a Leader in Health Care?
Trying to understand the difference between management and leadership. Being the newest member of the team and the boss at the same time. Hoping your staff believes you know what you’re doing. Becoming a leader isn’t easy. And becoming a leader in health care is even harder.
What Traits Do Health Care Leaders Need Today?
In a new IHI Open School short, Dr. Gary Kaplan examines several traits health care leaders need today.
What’s Your Working Style?
Kathy Duncan walks viewers through the traits and behaviors associated with four different working styles.
What Skill Do Physician Leaders Need Most?
Dr. Marilu Bintz explains why listening is the most important skill a physician leader can develop.
How Can Organizations Develop Physician Leaders?
Dr. Marilu Bintz explains how to develop physician leaders within a health care organization.
What Should Health Care Leaders Read About?
Dr. Marilu Bintz recommends an important reading topic for health care leaders.
Profiles In Leadership: Diana Chapman Walsh
Profiles in Leadership is a series of interviews with leaders in fields such as health care, community organizing, international development, and homelessness prevention. This month's leader: Diana Chapman Walsh, President Emerita, Wellesley College
Profiles In Leadership: Marshall Ganz
Profiles in Leadership is a series of interviews with leaders in fields such as health care, community organizing, international development, and homelessness prevention. This month's leader: Marshall Ganz, Lecturer in Public Policy, Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Harvard Kennedy School
Profiles In Leadership: Jeffrey Sachs
Profiles in Leadership is a series of interviews with leaders in fields such as health care, community organizing, international development, and homelessness prevention. This month's leader: Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute, Columbia University, and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Profiles In Leadership: Patricia Benner
Profiles in Leadership is a series of interviews with leaders in fields such as health care, community organizing, international development, and homelessness prevention. This month's leader: Patricia Benner, Professor Emerita, Depts. of Physiological Nursing & Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California – San Francisco
Profiles in Student Leadership
Six attendees from the 2011 IHI Open School Student Quality Leadership Academy shared their thoughts on becoming a leader in health care.
Profiles In Leadership: Rosanne Haggerty
Profiles in Leadership is a series of interviews with leaders in fields such as health care, community organizing, international development, and homelessness prevention. This month's leader: Rosanne Haggerty, president and founder of Common Ground.
Profiles in Leadership: Don Berwick
Profiles in Leadership is a series of interviews with leaders in fields such as health care, community organizing, international development, and homelessness prevention. This month's leader: Don Berwick, former President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
A Movement Model of Social Change
Watch Parker Palmer's "A Movement Model of Social Change" plenary speech at the 10th Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care (December 1998). Listen in on how he advises leading with the heart to bring about social change.
How Can You Be an Effective Team Leader?
In a new IHI Open School short, management expert Bob Pozen shares six behaviors that can make any team leader more effective.
A Movement Model of Social Change
Watch this abridged version of Parker Palmer's "A Movement Model of Social Change" plenary speech at the 10th Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care (December 1998). Listen in on how he advises leading with the heart to bring about social change.
Bottom-Up Versus Top-Down Change
Think you’re powerless because you’re a student? Think again. In this video, four students explain how they helped out with real-life improvement projects – and turned their experience into presentations and publications.

Whiteboard Videos
Cause and Effect Diagram
Robert Lloyd, IHI Vice President, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Control Charts (Part 1)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Control Charts (Part 2)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Deming's System of Profound Knowledge (Part 1)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Deming's System of Profound Knowledge (Part 2)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Divergent & Convergent Thinking (Part 1)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Divergent & Convergent Thinking (Part 2)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Driver Diagrams
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Family of Measures
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Flowcharts (Part 1)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Flowcharts (Part 2)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Force Field Analysis
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Pareto Analysis
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
PDSA Cycles (Part 1)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
PDSA Cycles (Part 2)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Run Charts (Part 1)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Run Charts (Part 2)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
Static Vs. Dynamic Data
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
The Model for Improvement (Part 1)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.
The Model for Improvement (Part 2)
Robert Lloyd, the Director of Performance Improvement at IHI, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement. In short videos, he breaks down everything from Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, to the PDSA cycle, to run charts.

Why Did You Get into Health Care?
Aswita Tan-McGrory, Massachusetts General Hospital
“Seeing my grandfather put the interest of other people before his own.”
Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey, Institute for Healthcare Improvement
“If you’ve been sick before, you know how helpless you feel when you are ill.”
Beth Averbeck, HealthPartners
“I think I liked working with people and I wanted to be able to make a difference.”
Barbara Balik, Common Fire Healthcare Consulting
“I had two aunts who became nurses in World War II.”
James Moses, Boston Medical Center
“He was 36, otherwise healthy, came home one night, and just wasn’t feeling right.”
Kedar Mate, Institute for Healthcare Improvement
“It felt unjust that we could have the life that we were living here and that there were so many poor people in other parts of the world.”
Marilu Bintz, Gundersen Health System
“Dad, would you be crushed if I didn’t become a chemical engineer like you?”