Designing Care: Aligning the Nature and Management of Health Care [Hardcover]

Richard M. J. Bohmer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 142217560X | ISBN-13: 978-1422175606 | Publication Date: June 22, 2009 | Edition: 1

Today's health-care providers face growing criticism from policy makers and patients alike. As costs continue to spiral upward and concerns about quality of care escalate, the debate has focused on how to finance health care. Yet funding solutions can't address the underlying questions: Why have costs risen in the first place? And how can we improve the quality and affordability of care? In "Designing Care", Harvard Business School professor Richard Bohmer argues that these fundamental questions must be answered. A medical doctor himself, Bohmer explains that health-care professionals are tasked with providing two very different types of care - sequential and iterative. With sequential care, a patient can be quickly diagnosed and given predictable, reliable, and low-cost care. But in the case of iterative care, a patient's condition is unknown, and tremendous resources may be required for diagnosis and treatment, often with uncertain outcomes. Bohmer shows that to reduce costs and manage care effectively, sequential and iterative care situations require different management systems. Through stories and cases drawn from years in the field, he reveals how health-care providers can successfully manage both modes. To do so, they must reevaluate traditional roles and embrace continuous learning across the organization. The benefits of this operational redesign? The predictable, responsive, and lower-cost care today's health-care leaders - and patients - seek.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard Bohmer is a physician and the MBA Class of 1973 Senior Lecturer of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School in the Technology and Operations (TOM) unit.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press; 1 edition (June 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 142217560X
• ISBN-13: 978-1422175606
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Medical Books > Administration & Medicine Economics > Health Policy

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Both business and health libraries need this approach, October 18, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Designing Care: Aligning the Nature and Management of Health Care (Hardcover)

Amidst the debate of blossoming health care costs and health care systems that don't work is a focus from a physician and business school professor who argues that energy could better be placed into understanding the basic nature of care and how to better design, manage and deliver it. Health care is a process of applying best practices to patient interests: chapters survey how business management routines can help solve many health care crisis situations. Both business and health libraries need this approach.

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting proposal. Fresh ideas, March 26, 2011

By 

Alvaro - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Designing Care: Aligning the Nature and Management of Health Care (Hardcover)

Discourse on the seemingly obvious is risky, but the author does properly, arguing well (from a local - northamerican point of view, not global as expected in this century, but enough to get the point) and oriented toward taking action that I consider very appropriate for building new solutions when you think it all boils down to lack of money in health systems. Already, the WHO had called attention to this point in its 2010 World Health Report, so this book helps you to build solutions on that route, bringing fresh ideas to the debate and constituting in an interesting contribution to better care for more people.