Another peer reviewed journal has recognized the value of tying transparency, delivery reform and payment reform together. The following article co-authored by John Toussaint, Chris Queram and Jo Musser describes the groundbreaking work in Wisconsin on changing American Healthcare.
At the Center we have three themes. Change the way care is delivered in transformational ways using the lean methodology, pay providers for delivering better value(quality/cost) to patients, and make performance transparent to those patients. These fundamental tenets are the basis for true healthcare reform.
In Wisconsin we are actually doing all three and early indicators are it's working. Quality is improving as measured longitudinally at the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ), costs are improving as evidenced by the fact that there are three communities in Wisconsin that are in the lowest 10% in the nation in total cost for medicare enrollees: Appleton,Madison and LaCrosse,and at least two organizations(Gundersen Lutheran and ThedaCare) have seriously committed to redesigning processes of care using the lean methodology. Other organizations across the country are not far behind and we will have by the end of the month 48 delivery systems in North America fully committed to transformational change
The following article describes the 8 year history of creating the series of collaborations in Wisconsin that have led to the state being one of only a handful of leaders in the country at healthcare quality and cost collection and reporting. The operative word here is collaboration,however. This work would not have been possible if insurers,employers,providers,consumers and the state government didn't agree to come to the table together and work out their issues.The only news people have seen from Wisconsin recently is evidence of lack of collaboration. I can attest to the fact that the political climate is not spilling over into the public private partnerships that have been working effectively for years. Fortunately, healthcare leaders in the state have decided to listen to each other and that's worked out best for the people of Wisconsin.
Here is the link to the article, AMJC_0311
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