A fascinating blog was recently
written in a Harvard Business Review blog explaining why our efforts to change
the way we delivery healthcare might not work.
For a while now the discussion
has focused around how our healthcare providers are compensated – fee for
service vs. paying for patient outcomes. It’s no secret that many providers are
motivated and incentivized by their payment structure, however this blog
argues, rather convincingly, that we need to change much more than the payment
structure if we want to change how healthcare is delivered today. This blog
offers 4 ways that we might be able to achieve the kind of change we are
looking for.
1. “Let doctors be doctors, not
managers.” It’s true that physicians now days have so much more to do than just
provide care for their patients. Perhaps if we allow physicians to just
concentrate on the healthcare delivery, then we could see more efficient
outcomes.
2. “Develop
standard protocols for care.” Relativity is the enemy of efficiency. If we can
help hospitals and providers to offer care using standardization, we will see
more efficient outcomes.
3.
“Hold people accountable for the little things. An endemic problem in many healthcare institutions is the
unfinished task. Who is accountable for stocking the amoxicillin? For making
sure the bathrooms are clean? For fixing patient beds? For paying vendors?
These small tasks make a big difference to the experiences—and survival—of
patients. We use simple tools like pareto analysis of drug use and reports of
patient-centered outcomes to hold providers and their managers accountable to
the care they deliver.”
4. “Invest
in technologies that promote efficiency and transparency” Change is difficult
for most of us, but it’s even more difficult for healthcare providers that have
been doing things the same for decades. The average healthcare provider today
is not a spring chicken, and they are not used to the technology changes that many
of us are. However, this is an important step to moving healthcare into a more
efficient industry.
I
believe that these four suggestions are spot on. It’s amazing to know that
healthcare challenges are global, and we can learn a lot about ourselves by
looking abroad.
Share
your Thoughts:
What do
you think about the suggestions to change/solve the healthcare challenges? Do
you think health policy should be involved in implementing some of these ideas?
Thank
you to Baylor MBA Healthcare Program for encouraging creative solutions to
complex health care and policy difficulties.
Sources:
https://hbr.org/2015/04/fixing-health-care-will-require-more-than-a-new-payment-system
https://rmsbunkerblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/what-is-an-aco.jpg
