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"We Could Do It Better For Less. Much Better, For Much Less."

"The Dartmouth Center studies repeatedly show that efficiency and effectiveness go together in health care. There is no clinical advantage to making the process more clunky, difficult and expensive. And more is not better in health care—doing more tests and more procedures actually correlates not just with added cost, but with worse outcomes. Efficiency, convenience and low cost are therapeutically effective.

"This is the giant prize at the center of the labyrinth of changing health care: We could do it better for less. Much better, for much less. And more and more companies are heading straight for that prize."

(From Joe Flower writing in H&HN Magazine)

I was nearly evicted from a hospital COO's office last week for suggesting that what he counts as "success" - more filled beds, more procedures, higher intensity - should be seen as process defects elsewhere in the health care system.  A new generation of entrepreneurs (along with their venture capital ecosystem) view health care as ripe for a complete makeover.  They're hellbent on targeting those process defects, along the way turning much of what that COO believes he knows into yesterday's news, all by simply asking "What if...?  Why not...?" (Sound familiar?) 

I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas on the "process defect" thesis.  E-mail me at healthcarestrategist@gmail.com if you're a brave soul with a few moments to talk.  Thanks!

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