This came from today's Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report email. It talks about using methods and practices from other systems, specifically airlines, in health care. I thought this was interesting as it seemed relevant to our recent discussions and the NSF is funding research in this area.
thanks Chelsea!
jd
Reducing Health Care Costs, Improving Care - US News and World Report
This article has evoked a new perspective in managing health care. It is talking about the prospective of applying specific engineering methods to the field of health care. By presenting results of some recent studies in the prestigious academic journals, the author is trying to provide more evidence that modern theory on system modeling in the field of industry will be helpful for curbing the increasing health expenditure and improving quality of care at the sometime.
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, the project has proposed a new perspective on dealing with one of the most urgent priorities for many countries health reform agenda. Mathematic modeling, statistical inference and testing, and computational simulation apparently equip us with stronger tools for rigorous and convincing reasoning when making decisions. However, as in my point of view, our health systems are approaching to the bound of “chao” if not appropriately modified. As adaptive system, it is the unpredictability and uncertainty that differentiate itself from the other systems. Besides, because health system is the place where people assume to seek chances to live better, it will be very important to carefully deliberate any modification on issues dealing with life and death. It might not be that reasonable to manipulate health service delivery by a single or a combination of so called complex and dynamic model. Since I believe, there will be no such model that could perfectly simulate the whole picture of interaction on each element in health system. Who dare to purely rely on models derived from mechanical calculations, or sometimes with a few advanced adjustments? Will it be too arbitrary to draw any conclusions on what, when and to whom should the health service be provided?
I agree with one of the comments on the issue on overbook that patients need time with their physicians. And there will be some ways with more inter-person contact and communication that might substitute for the mechanical computational simulation process to make our system more effective, efficient and equal. Modeling is just a tool, but don’t let it drive our thoughts.
This article has evoked a new perspective in managing health care. It is talking about the prospective of applying specific engineering methods to the field of health care. By presenting results of some recent studies in the prestigious academic journals, the author is trying to provide more evidence that modern theory on system modeling in the field of industry will be helpful for curbing the increasing health expenditure and improving quality of care at the sometime.
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, the project has proposed a new perspective on dealing with one of the most urgent priorities for many countries health reform agenda. Mathematic modeling, statistical inference and testing, and computational simulation apparently equip us with stronger tools for rigorous and convincing reasoning when making decisions. However, as in my point of view, our health systems are approaching to the bound of “chao” if not appropriately modified. As adaptive system, it is the unpredictability and uncertainty that differentiate itself from the other systems. Besides, because health system is the place where people assume to seek chances to live better, it will be very important to carefully deliberate any modification on issues dealing with life and death. It might not be that reasonable to manipulate health service delivery by a single or a combination of so called complex and dynamic model. Since I believe, there will be no such model that could perfectly simulate the whole picture of interaction on each element in health system. Who dare to purely rely on models derived from mechanical calculations, or sometimes with a few advanced adjustments? Will it be too arbitrary to draw any conclusions on what, when and to whom should the health service be provided?
I agree with one of the comments on the issue on overbook that patients need time with their physicians. And there will be some ways with more inter-person contact and communication that might substitute for the mechanical computational simulation process to make our system more effective, efficient and equal. Modeling is just a tool, but don’t let it drive our thoughts.
Healthcare is a $2.3 trillion industry and waste accounts for $780 billion! To simply put it, this $780 billion could insure almost 56 million families for a year (considering that today the annual family coverage is $13,770 – source Kaiser Family Foundation). This would well take care of the uninsured in the US!
ReplyDeleteThat apart, it would be interesting to know the components that make up this $780 billion. While a certain amount of waste is inherent in any functional system, it is imperative to ensure that this waste is kept to the minimum. It is indeed noteworthy that efforts are now being made to stem this colossal loss, to adopt best practices from other industries and adapt them to the health care situation.
Healthcare delivery inherently is a complex adaptive system. However, each day, it is faced with numerous simple and complicated (not complex) problems, which can be remedied by reengineering or modification of processes. Waiting times, delays, inefficient processes are problems that have plagued other industries as well. The Aviation and Manufacturing industries have mastered the skills to overcome the challenges that the healthcare industry is struggling to cope with today. Rather than living with the challenges, would it not be prudent to adapt these best practices. The checklist, a practice born out of Boeing’s error and consequent failure to successfully launch its long-range bomber in 1935 is just one such example.
While the example of ‘overbooking’ drew adverse comments from some readers, what is critical is the way the practice is implemented and how it addresses the baseline problem, in short how well is it 'adapted'. A practice that does not address the root cause, will certainly not address the problem. While ‘strategic’ overbooking tackles the no-show issue in one place, a totally different approach may be needed in another!
In today’s age of ‘lean thinking’, what is important is that there is a persistent effort to find innovative methods to cut waste. If this cannot come from within the industry, looking outside may just be what the doctor ordered!