Quality Care, Affordable Care: How Physicians Can Reduce Variation and Lower Healthcare Costs / Edition 1

by Lawrence Shapiro

Overview

In Quality Care, Affordable Care, Dr. Lawrence Shapiro explains how by using the simple but potent variation-reduction process, physicians can take charge of healthcare reform to improve health and reduce the cost of care. And he tells the real-life story of how the variation reduction program at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, which he runs, saved $31 million by instituting a series of specialty-oriented variation-reduction programs. He also shares the five pillars of a successful variation-reduction program, and explains how providers can use these approaches to build their own in-house variation reduction effort.

Don’t miss this opportunity to understand and implement an approach to healthcare change which puts doctors in the driver s seat. This book offers a practical, hands-on guide to getting a variation-reduction program in place that physicians will sign up for. It offers a unique take from a physician leader who has personally led a highly-successful program and explains in plain language how to take advantage of his experience.

In Quality Care, Affordable Care, Dr. Lawrence Shapiro explains how by using the simple but potent variation-reduction process, physicians can take charge of healthcare reform to improve health and reduce the cost of care. And he tells the real-life story of how the variation reduction program at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, which he runs, saved $31 million by instituting a series of specialty-oriented variation-reduction programs. He also shares the five pillars of a successful variation-reduction program, and explains how providers can use these approaches to build their own in-house variation reduction effort.

Don’t miss this opportunity to understand and implement an approach to healthcare change which puts doctors in the driver s seat. This book offers a practical, hands-on guide to getting a variation-reduction program in place that physicians will sign up for. It offers a unique take from a physician leader who has personally led a highly-successful program and explains in plain language how to take advantage of his experience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780991013500
Publisher:	Greenbranch Publishing
Publication date:	11/01/2013
Pages:	183
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Lawrence Shapiro, MD, is a board-certified physician with a specialty in pulmonary medicine. For the last twenty years, he has been enmeshed in the healthcare system known as Managed Care. As a result of these experiences with physicians, medical groups, hospitals and health plans, he initiated the Variation Reduction Process at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, which has reduced the cost of healthcare while increasing quality.

Table of Contents

Part I: The Path to Variation Reduction

Chapter 1: Unwarranted Variation

Chapter 2: Inappropriate Use

Chapter 3: The Inefficiency of “Efficiency”

Chapter 4: Variation Reduction

Chapter 5: Our Results

Part II: Changing Minds, Changing Practices

Chapter 6: Why Bother?

Chapter 7: Addressing Physicians’ Concerns

Chapter 8: Growing Local Experts

Chapter 9: Understanding Variation

Chapter 10: Pillars of Variation Reduction

Part III: Variation Reduction by the Book

Chapter 11: Is Variation Reduction Right for You?

Chapter 12: Working with Data

Chapter 13: Analyzing and Communicating Variation

Chapter 14: Herding Cats

Chapter 15: Solving Problems

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Jessica Ruth Ferraro, MHA (James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital)
Description: This book examines the ways physicians can lower healthcare costs by reducing variations in practice.
Purpose: The purpose is to "convince you" that reducing variation will aid in increasing the value of healthcare to patients. The objective is a worthy one and, as a whole, it meets the intended objective.
Audience: According to the author, this book is intended for physicians, physician leaders, and administrators of physician groups. This is spot on, and the book could be read by a variety of healthcare professionals and students to get a better understanding of variation reduction. The author has seen firsthand how variation reduction has lowered healthcare costs at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation.
Features: The book is divided into three sections. The first details how the Palo Alto Medical Foundation dissected variation, implemented strategies to reduce the variations, and the results obtained. The second part describes why it is important to reduce variation, as well as the changes necessary to implement. Part three acts as a guide with tips for implementation. The guide in part three is the best area of the book. It makes implementation strategies seem completely doable, with examples to show how Palo Alto Medical Foundation accomplished the task.
Assessment: It was truly a joy to read this book. It is informative and provides the necessary tools for implementing various strategies throughout any healthcare organization.

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