Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement

What Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement does

Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement (SMCI) is a non-profit organizational unit within Stanford University School of Medicine, established in 2020 to operationalize Dean Minor's vision of building a community of healthcare improvers across Stanford Medicine. The center provides structured education and certification in improvement science — including Lean, Six Sigma, and Deming's System of Profound Knowledge — through a portfolio of in-person and virtual programs: Realizing Improvement Through Team Empowerment (RITE, 20 weeks), the Specialist Course in Improvement Science (SCIS, 4 months, with Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification), the Advanced Course in Improvement Science (ACIS, 8 months), the Quality Improvement and Leadership Training (QuILT) program for pediatric faculty, and the Packard Quality Management System (PQMS) foundations course. It supports this education with the SMCI Toolkit (an online library of resources organized by project goals, type, and audience), a monthly Zoom lecture series, work groups and affinity groups, and annual events including the Lean Healthcare Academic Conference and SMCI Quality Symposium. SMCI also administers grant funding through the Lillie and Donnelly Seed Grant Program ($25K–$100K awards to Stanford Medicine faculty) and participates in PCORI's Health Systems Implementation Initiative as 1 of 42 health systems.

SMCI's primary customers are Stanford Medicine entities — Stanford Health Care, Stanford Children's Health, and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford — with Chief Quality Officers Grace Lee and Paul Maggio co-leading PCORI HSII and providing testimonial-level sponsorship. External healthcare professionals can participate in courses and the global community of improvers at higher pricing ($3,500 vs. $2,000 for Stanford affiliates), and select programs (QuILT, RITE) are free for Stanford affiliates. Course fees, grant pass-through funding (PCORI, Lillie and Donnelly), and institutional support from Stanford Medicine constitute the revenue model; no commercial revenue is disclosed. SMCI does not develop AI but evaluates and integrates third-party tools — notably an Epic-based ambient AI scribe, predictive AI with a governance framework, and LUCILE, a Claude-based Hospital Digital Twin for surgical scheduling and patient flow optimization.

The center's go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: building a multidisciplinary community of improvers through membership credentials (Affiliate, Fellow), work groups, affinity groups, and recurring events, rather than a traditional sales motion. Distribution is institutional within Stanford Medicine (direct engagement of Stanford Health Care, Stanford Children's Health) supplemented by virtual/Zoom delivery for external participants. With approximately 7 employees and no external investors, SMCI operates as a grant- and institution-funded academic hub rather than a commercial enterprise.

Name

Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement

Legal name

Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement

Website

https://smci.stanford.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement is a non-profit academic center within Stanford Medicine that builds healthcare improvement capability through multi-tier certification programs, a public QI toolkit, grant administration, and a community of improvers across Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Quality Improvement Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAGABAF

Health Sciences & Nursing

Education/Educational Publishing & Learning Content/Higher Education Textbooks & Courseware

Keywords

• Healthcare quality improvement
• Improvement science education
• Lean healthcare training
• Clinical implementation science
• Healthcare performance improvement

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Seed Grant Funding: SMCI administers the Lillie and Donnelly Seed Grant Program providing funding ($25K-$100K) to Stanford Medicine faculty and staff for quality improvement projects focused on patient flow and access.
2. PCORI Funding: Stanford Medicine participates in PCORI Health Systems Implementation Initiative (HSII), receiving funding to advance integration of practice-changing clinical effectiveness research into care delivery.
3. Course Fees: Educational programs charged at different rates: $2,000 for Stanford Medicine participants or $3,500 for external participants for some courses.
4. Institutional Support: Free programs for Stanford affiliates with some courses (QuILT, RITE) provided at no cost to participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SMCI delivers healthcare quality improvement education, training, and community-building services through structured courses (RITE, SCIS, ACIS, QuILT, PQMS), the SMCI Toolkit online resource library, a monthly Lecture Series, the annual Lean Healthcare Academic Conference, and the Lillie and Donnelly Seed Grant Program. Offerings are targeted primarily at Stanford Medicine healthcare professionals and Stanford Department of Pediatrics faculty/fellows, with selected courses extended to external healthcare improvement professionals globally.

Product overview

Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement (SMCI) offers a comprehensive portfolio of healthcare quality improvement products and services centered around its core SMCI Toolkit and Lecture Series. The organization provides structured educational programs including RITE, SCIS (with Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification), ACIS, and QuILT for skill development at various levels. Annual programming includes the Lean Healthcare Academic Conference, while grant funding is available through the Lillie and Donnelly Seed Grant Program. SMCI also participates in the PCORI Health Systems Implementation Initiative for clinical research integration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SMCI Toolkit: An adaptable toolkit for improvement, implementation, and evaluation resources.
• QuILT Program
• Specialist Course in Improvement Science (SCIS)
• Advanced Course in Improvement Science (ACIS)
• Lillie and Donnelly Seed Grant Program
• Stanford Community of Improvement Professionals (SCIP)

Products and services

• SMCI Toolkit An adaptable online resource library for improvement science methodology, implementation tools, and evaluation frameworks, with resources organized by project goals, type, and audience. Includes videos, lecture series recordings, and tools/templates, accessible to Stanford Medicine affiliates and the global healthcare improvement community.
• Specialist Course in Improvement Science (SCIS) Four-month virtual course in improvement science with the option to certify as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, the industry standard credential for improvement professionals. Priced at $2,000 for Stanford Medicine participants and $3,500 for external participants.
• Advanced Course in Improvement Science (ACIS) Eight-month hybrid course teaching Deming's 4 domains of profound knowledge for advanced improvers, beginning in September/October annually.
• Realizing Improvement Through Team Empowerment (RITE) Twenty-week team-based course for multi-disciplinary project teams working on complex healthcare improvement problems.
• Quality Improvement and Leadership Training (QuILT) Program Ten-month QI and leadership training program for Stanford Department of Pediatrics faculty and fellows using the A3 Thinking paradigm; free for Stanford affiliates.
• Packard Quality Management System (PQMS) Foundations One-day foundational course on principles and methods for continuous improvement of daily operations, including PQMS for Champions: Leading with DMS (no cost for Stanford Medicine participants; CEU credits available for $190.59 for 12.25 hours).
• SMCI Lecture Series Monthly virtual educational presentations covering healthcare improvement topics, implementation science, and quality initiatives, featuring Stanford and external speakers; delivered via Zoom with recordings archived in the SMCI Toolkit.
• Lean Healthcare Academic Conference Annual conference held in September at the Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center in Stanford, CA, featuring keynote speakers, breakout sessions, poster presentations, and networking for healthcare improvement professionals; co-convened by Terry Platchek.
• Lillie and Donnelly Seed Grant Program Seed grant program administered with the Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research Institute providing $25K–$100K awards to Stanford Medicine faculty and staff for quality improvement projects focused on patient flow and access.

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PCORI (Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Stanford Medicine is 1 of 42 health systems in PCORI's Health Systems Implementation Initiative (HSII), led by Chief Quality Officers Drs. Grace Lee and Paul Maggio. This is the first initiative to include all of Stanford Medicine. Funding opportunities are offered twice a year centered around PCORI-HSII-selected topics.
• Stanford Health CarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the two main Stanford Medicine entities that SMCI serves, with Dr. Paul Maggio as Chief Quality Officer co-leading PCORI HSII.
• Stanford Children's Health / Lucile Packard Children's Hospital StanfordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the two main Stanford Medicine entities that SMCI serves, with Dr. Grace Lee as Chief Quality Officer co-leading PCORI HSII.
• Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with SMCI to administer the Lillie and Donnelly Seed Grant Program, with Kim Stern as Associate Director, Grants and Program Operations.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• National Association for Healthcare Quality: Professional association offering healthcare quality credentials, education, and networking for QI professionals. Directly comparable to SMCI's QI credentialing and professional development mission.
• Intermountain Healthcare Leadership Institute: Internal training and QI development function at Intermountain Healthcare, similar in role to SMCI for Stanford Medicine, focused on building improvement capability within a major integrated delivery system.
• Virginia Mason Institute: Healthcare QI training and consulting organization built around Lean methodology, offering certification and education programs. Directly comparable to SMCI's Lean-based curriculum and Lean Healthcare Academic Conference.
• Catalysis: Nonprofit focused on healthcare value creation through Lean transformation, education, and peer-to-peer learning networks. Comparable to SMCI's improvement science education and community-of-improvers model.
• Institute for Healthcare Improvement: The leading global nonprofit focused on healthcare quality improvement, offering training, certifications, and conferences. Highly comparable to SMCI as both deliver structured QI education and community-building for healthcare improvers.
• Mayo Clinic Quality Academy: Internal quality improvement education function at another major academic medical center, offering training programs for clinicians and staff. Highly comparable structure and mission to SMCI within Stanford Medicine.

Broad incumbents

• Lean Enterprise Institute: Nonprofit education organization advancing Lean thinking across industries, with deep healthcare content. John Shook (LEI chairman) is a core instructor at SMCI, indicating direct content and methodology overlap.
• Joint Commission Resources: Healthcare quality, safety, and accreditation training arm of The Joint Commission, offering certifications and educational programs for healthcare QI professionals. Comparable as a broader incumbent in QI education.
• American Society for Quality: Large, established quality professional organization offering Six Sigma Black Belt certification and broader quality training. Comparable to SMCI because SMCI's SCIS program explicitly offers Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification aligned with ASQ standards.

Regional players

• Kaiser Permanente Quality and Operations Support: Internal QI training and performance improvement infrastructure at Kaiser Permanente, a large integrated system. Comparable to SMCI as a system-anchored QI capability builder, though operating at much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stanford-medicine-center-for-improvement

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement