"There is really only one "critical success factor" for hospitals under reform, Kaufman said: Become a cost-focused organization. That means, among other things: improve efficiency, eliminate variability, collaborate with physicians to create value and develop a self-governing model for employing physicians." (Nathan Kaufman, speaking at the 18th Annual Health Forum/AHA Leadership Summit)
Michael Porter, writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, proposes "A Strategy For Health Care Reform - Toward A Value-Based System." His proposals are fundamental, lucid and right-on, meaning they're sure to be opposed by some parties to the debate, the so-called "Yes, but..." crowd. Most important, in my opinion, is this: "... electronic medical records will enable value improvement, but only if they support integrated care and outcome measurement. Simply automating current delivery practices will be a hugely expensive exercise in futility. Among our highest near-term priorities is to finalize and then continuously update health information technology (HIT) standards that include precise data definitions (for diagnoses and treatments, for example), an architecture for aggregating data for each patient over time and across providers, and protocols for seamless communication among systems. "Finally, consumers must become much mor...
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