Redefining German Health Care: Moving to a Value-Based System 2012th Edition

The German title is interesting. While the US title is a bland, "Redefining German Health Care", the German title is, "Chancen für das deutsche Gesundheitssystem: Von Partikularinteressen zu mehr Patientennutzen" which is the more colorful title: "Chances for the German Health System: From Private Interests to More Patient Utility."The German blurb is roughly:Costs in the German health care system are rising, while quality problems are becoming increasingly evident - despite all reform efforts [Reformbemuehungen]. The authors assume that it is not cost control, but the issue of rising healthcare utilization that can unite all stakeholders. In twelve recommendations, they explain how health care providers should organize themselves in the competition for quality, and how health insurance funds can play a more active role. The remuneration system should reward excellence in the care of individual illness scenarios.

Porter's prior "Redefining Health Care" presented his theory for a value-based health-care reform. This is the use-case. The book describes the experience of moving to a value-based system in Germany. The book does present the "lessons learned" from the experience, but I still sense that things were harder than presented. Nevertheless, there's a lot of good stuff in here.

An excellent work. I rigorous study of the subject and how we can use the results to other fields. I must say team has gone beyond the excellence and achieved a wealth for generations to come...

Porter and colleagues have been looking at healthcare over the past few years and this special look at Germany is timely. Germany has a generally well-regarded healthcare system, characterised though by obvious fragmentation, mis-/under-/over-use of clinical services, driven in the main by the reimbursement system -- fee for service. All countries with FFS systems suffer from service fragmentation, in particular they have single-handed general practitioners, who can hardly participate comprehensively in integrated care, disconnected pharmacies, which are only drug dispenseries and do not participate actively in care management, and higher costs per case than needed. While others have been saying the same thing for years about Germany, as well as France, Belgium and others, it is good to see Porter weigh in with his structured, evidence-informed criticism.Now how about tackling the mother of resistent reformers the UK's NHS, or even the basket-case that is Canada. But perhaps there is more mileage to be made looking at the problems of partitioned healthcare systems such as India, China and Saudi Arabia for starters.