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Wait! Wait! Don't Build That!

From San Francisco Business Times, health care futurist Wanda Jones advises hospitals to take a construction breather before hard-coding the past's mistakes into another generation of expensive facilities, sticking patients and taxpayers with the bills.
"Her solution: Before building giant new acute-care hospitals, invest in new multi-specialty clinical institutes that include physicians’ offices, related diagnostic and clinical services, and space to educate groups of patients with common chronic conditions. Sutter’s Palo Alto Medical Foundation is probably the closest existing entity. “Face the building with a fitness center and a health cafe,” Jones suggests. “Add a medical hotel.” Support innovations, like remote monitoring of patients with wearable vital-signs monitors. Provide case management from the outset to patients with chronic ailments. Use the Internet to communicate with them."
Great ideas, but they require a risk-taking hospital board and CEO. Nobody ever got fired for building what's easy and common.


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