A revolution in American medicine is in full swing, with the race from fee-for-service to fee-for-value at the front line in an epic battle that will transform healthcare delivery for decades to come. In America’s Healthcare Transformation, eminent physician leader Robert A. Phillips brings together key thought leaders and trail-blazing practitioners, who provide a wide-ranging exploration of the strategies, innovations, and paradigm shifts that are driving this healthcare transformation. The contributors offer a panoramic look at the dramatic changes happening in the field of medicine, changes that put the patient at the heart of the process. Among other subjects, the essays evaluate innovative high quality and low cost care delivery solutions from around the United States and abroad, describe fundamental approaches to measuring the safety of care and the impact that guidelines have on improving quality of care and outcomes, and make a strong case that insurance reform will fundamentally and irreversibly drive delivery reform. In addition, America’s Healthcare Transformation reviews the role of health information technology in creating safer healthcare, provides a primer on the development of a culture of safety, and highlights ground-breaking new ways to train providers in patient safety and quality. Finally, the book looks at reports from Stanford Health Care and Houston Methodist which outline how successful behaviorally based strategies, anchored in values, can energize and empower employees to deliver a superior patient experience. Drawing on the wisdom and vision of today’s leading healthcare innovators, America’s Healthcare Transformation provides a roadmap to the future of American healthcare. This book is essential reading for all health care providers, health care administrators, and health policy professionals, and it will be an invaluable resource in the effort to improve the practice of medicine and the delivery of healthcare in our communities and nation.

Engineering Solutions to America‘s Healthcare Challenges covers the technologies, systems, and processes that are emerging in hospitals, clinics, community centers, universities, and the White House to repair healthcare in the United States. Focusing on the importance of individuals being proactive about their own state of health, it presents a sys

This issue of Anesthesiology Clinics focuses on Preoperative Patient Evaluation and is edited by Dr. Zdravka Zafirova and Dr. Richard Urman. Article topics include: Designing and Running a Preoperative Clinic; Preoperative Laboratory Testing; Patients with Cardiac Disease Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery; Preoperative Evaluation and Estimation of Pulmonary Risk; Stratification and Risk Reduction of Perioperative Acute Kidney Injury; Anticoagulants and Hematologic Disorders and Anemia; Nutrition and Prehabilitation; Perioperative Management of Diabetes and Other Endocrine Conditions; Preoperative Management of the Geriatric Patient, including Frailty and Cognitive Impairment Assessment; Management of Challenging Pharmacological Issues, including Chronic Pain and Substance Abuse Disorders; Assessment of the Pregnant Patient; Genomics Testing and Personalized Medicine in the Preoperative Setting; Shared Decision Making; Preoperative Management of Medications; Perioperative Surgical Home Models; and Preoperative Evaluation of the Pediatric Patient.

Never before in the healthcare industry has there been such intense emphasis and open debate on the issue of quality. The steady rise in the cost of healthcare coupled with the need for quality have combined to put the healthcare industry at the top of the national agenda. Quality, costs, and service are not just socially provocative ideas. They are critical criteria for decision-making by patients, physicians, and many key constituents of healthcare organizations. The pursuit of improved performance has driven a host of executives and managers in search of techniques for structuring, rehabilitating, redesigning, and reengineering the organizations they serve. Unfortunately, the narrow-mindedness with which programs are implemented and the discontinuity in their application weaken the promise of success. The process of quality improvement can become an undisciplined search for illusions rather than reality. For many years, healthcare managers have embraced the narrow definition of performance solely in the context of financial success. Forward-thinking executives now realize that the road to financial success begins with success in quality and service. Quality and service are no longer separate issues – they are the same. Neither one by itself will bring about lasting success. The ultimate measure of performance is in an organization’s ability to create value for its customers, and true performance must be measured in the context of the customers’ total experience. This book is about how to manage performance in the context of value to the customer or patient. It brings together the many pieces of the performance improvement puzzle – quality, technology, costs, productivity, and customer service. The author also covers process improvement tools including Lean and Six Sigma, and how to create a culture of continuous improvement as well as how to improve the patient experience and productivity improvement strategies. The book is filled with examples, illustrations, and tools for improving key aspects of a healthcare organization’s performance.

Customer-centric, market-driven solutions for fixing America’s broken healthcare system—from one of the industry’s most innovative thought leaders. Healthcare accounts for nearly a fifth of the U.S. economy. Everyone agrees that the current system is broken and in desperate need of repair. It should cost less, tackle chronic disease, and promote health. It requires a massive shift in resources from acute services to better care management, behavioral health, and primary care services. The question isn’t what to do. It’s how to do it. The revolution starts by meeting and supporting consumers’ real health needs. It’s time for American healthcare to serve the people. This is The Customer Revolution in Healthcare. Written by leading healthcare strategist and commentator David W. Johnson, this groundbreaking book is more than a wake-up call. It’s a point-by-point action plan to: • Blow up the “Healthcare Industrial Complex” • Liberate data and empower consumers with technology • Promote agile, innovative, and customer-centric “platform” companies • Reduce costs, improve service, and generate superior outcomes • Deliver personalized care with precisions and compassion • Explain and address America’s self-created opioid crisis • Provide affordable and accessible health insurance for all • Turbocharge the U.S. economy • Foster healthier communities Revolutionary healthcare empowers patients and providers alike. Competitive healthcare companies reconfigure inefficient business models to deliver appropriate, accessible, holistic, and reliable care at lower costs. Caregivers engage patients with insight and compassion informed by real-time data and analytics. Payers reward health companies that deliver great outcomes and great service at competitive prices while keeping members as healthy as possible. Investors fund innovative companies whose products and services delight customers. And consumers receive compassionate, affordable, convenient healthcare that meets their needs. Most important, The Customer Revolution in Healthcare provides a robust framework for aligning economic incentives with patient needs to deliver better outcomes at lower costs with superior customer service. The future of healthcare belongs to innovative customer-centric health companies that deliver kinder, smarter, more affordable care—to all.