Customer Reviews

Saving Lives & Saving Money

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book was written by former Speaker Gingrich and his associates for several reasons. First, to lay out the case in Chapter 2 "why reforming healthcare is doomed to fail and only a process of [completely] transforming health and healthcare can succeed". Second, to provoke a national debate and evolve a strategy for the solution one of the greatest potential political and budget crises of the early part of this century as the baby boomers reach retirement age and Medicare's unfunded liabilities skyrocket. And last, to provide examples of "transforming methodologies" that are actually being successfully utilized today and references to other information sources (including many web sites). He firmly believes that is possible to achieve the twin goals summarized in the book's title and have better health care while spending less at the same time.

This book posits that the single greatest problem (but by no means the only one) with our current healthcare system is the third party payor system that has arisen from the perverse incentives introduced into the tax code that have made employer provided healthcare the dominant organizational methodology in our country today. The effects of these incentives are exacerbated by the increasing share of medical spending being reimbursed through the government Medicare and Medicaid programs. Consumers of healthcare are frustrated because their choices are limited; providers are frustrated by the bureaucracy, paperwork and interference with their medical judgment as well as the lack of tort reform; and the funders (taxpayers and employers) are horrified by the rate of increase in their costs. One of the unintended consequences of these incentives is that the system treats illness much more effectively than it promotes health and personal responsibility for the consequences of your actions.

The book contains many interesting insights on the role of technology, not only in the administration and provision of more responsive service by providers and in recordkeeping that minimizes duplication of effort and decreases the prevalence of errors but also in the furthering of scientific advances themselves. The frontier of medical and scientific discovery today is at the intersection of chemistry, physics and biotechnology, and chapter nine provides some observations in this regard. The overall tone of the book is both urgent and hopeful, as the author clearly understands the huge political difficulties in changing such a complex system with so many different constituencies.

This book definitely a worthwhile read for anyone interested in a broadbrush approach by a serious student of the subject with the perspective that the author brings to the topic. However, the book suffers from some flaws. First, it is a collection of loosely connected chapters. They are somewhat sequential but can stand on their own. The disadvantage of this approach is that there is an incredible amount of repetitive material if one reads the whole book. While the emphasis of some of the points is appropriate, this is a mix of anecdotes, exhortation, well thought out proposals, interesting information, and moral outrage at the consequences of the perverse incentives of our current system (unnecessary death and suffering). Second, the former Speaker lapses into his habit of occasionally getting so excited about the potential impact of something that he believes it is necessary to mandate it at the federal level (e.g. an immediately accessible computerized database of all medical information for each individual) despite all the evidence that this will stifle creativity and curb further beneficial evolutionary developments. In addition to the very negative implications for our liberty.) Third and most discouraging, he proposes very large increases in federal spending in several areas, indicating his belief in market failure and his lack of faith that individuals and private industry will make the appropriate choices with regard to such areas as funding basic research, preventive treatment for diabetes, etc. Such suggestions seem at odds with the basic premise of this book, i.e, that informed consumers with the appropriate knowledge deserve the maximum amount of flexibility in their healthcare choices and need to accept as much personal responsibility in their consumption of healthcare as in other areas of their lives. Thus, while I want to encourage widespread readership of this book and discussion of its ideas, it does not deserve five stars.

Disclaimer: the author is a personal friend of mine, but he never requested that I review it and my copy was purchased at this site, not provided free to me. I serve on the Board of Directors of an organization which he once headed, and healthcare reform is one area that we both agree is crucial to our country's future, although we disagree on many aspects of various proposed reforms. We agree in the areas of public policy where my libertarian ideals intersect with his conservative principles, while strongly disagreeing in such areas as the decriminalization of many currently illegal substances. I believe that my review is objective with regard to this book but wanted the readers of this review to have all relevant information that might have influenced my recommendation.

Tucker Andersen

As a citizen, nurse and consultant in medical information technology, I found this book of great interest and value. It provides a framework for transforming the current healthcare system into a 21st century health and healthcare system. A system that is individual centered, values driven, knowledge intense, innovation rich, prevention focused, electronically based, market mediated, of increased choice, quality driven, outcomes based and of lower overall cost.

Filled with real life examples of transformational solutions and specific ways for all citizens to get involved in the healthcare debate, this book is a call to action. It provides one with an understanding of the problems of the current system, a vision for the future system and challenges one to get involved in the transformation. I am very interested in the Center for Healthcare Transformation that was mentioned as one way to get involved.

I recommend this book to private citizens and healthcare and IT professionals who want to transform the current system. I also recommend it to students of any health related discipline (nursing, medicine, health system administration to name a few) wanting to better understand the problems of the current system and the transformation that is needed.

Newt is a visionary and a gifted teacher. This book is an excellent blend of those talents.

A student of history and a proponent for the possible, Newt Gingrich reviews America's Health Care System and recommends a Revolution. While most politicians and policy makers see only the ability to tweak the current system, Gingrich studies it and determines and documents that the entire system must be revamped. He bases his analysis both on the history of America's health care system and on sound economics. In addition, Newt adds the spice of stories of those who are already playing a part to utilize today's technology to develop a health care system that promotes personal relationships between the patient and both his/her physician and his/her source of health care funding. But most important, Newt outlines what each individual can do to revolutionize America's health care in order to both `save lives and save money.' This book is a must read for anyone in America in need of health care. The life and money you save just might be your own.

Mack W. Bryson
Chief Executive Officer
Currahee Health Benefits Solutions, Inc.

"It is refreshing that someone has finally addressed a common sense, no nonsense approach to managing healthcare costs. For too long employers have labored under the illusion that cost shifting through co-pays, deductibles, provider networks and restriction of coverage would help control healthcare costs. 'Managed Care' has proven itself to be nothing more than 'Managed Cost,' while the basic problems went unaddressed for the most part. In Saving Lives & Saving Money, Newt Gingrich points out that through accountability and prevention, coupled with available technology, employers, employees and their families can finally begin to get a handle on the issue of healthcare costs. A point well made!"

Saving Lives & Saving Money is a significant work by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, founder of the Center for Health Transformation; Dana Pavey, Gingrich's director of research at the American Enterprise Institute; and Anne Woodbury, vice president for health at the Gingrich Group. Together they have identified the principles of the transformation necessary to create a twenty-first century health care system that will save both lives and money.

"There is an enormous gap between the quality of health care you and your family should have and what you are most likely receiving from the current system," Gingrich has said on several different occasions, including in this book. "We have demonstrated that Americans could have a dramatically better system, which would save thousands of lives and billions of dollars every year."

Written as a citizen's guide, Saving Lives & Saving Money applies the lessons Gingrich learned from two decades of work in the national defense transformation, his experience in public health policy as a member of Congress, years of research as a senior fellow of the American Enterprise Institute, and consulting work for health-related businesses at his firm, the Gingrich Group.


Wake-Up Call

Filled with real-life examples of transforming solutions and specific ways for people to get involved in the health care debate, Saving Lives is a wake-up call for radical-left reform advocates and a call to action for the rest of us. It helps the reader understand the problems of the current system while offering a vision for the future.

Gingrich proposes a system where the individual, not the employer or government, is at the center of financing and care decisions. He argues that saving lives and saving money are both moral imperatives and practical needs.

Chapter eight, which outlines a new model for the care and management of diabetes, is especially relevant when one looks at the explosion of obesity-related diabetes. And since we are an aging population, chapter ten, on healthy aging, addresses what will continue to be a prominent topic in health care as the baby-boomers reach retirement age. As Mickey Mantle once said, "If I knew I would live so long, I would have taken better care of myself."


Action Items

Some companies in America are currently developing some of the solutions Gingrich suggests in this book. He lists these innovators in an appendix, for those who would like to follow up on these issues or use their services. These organizations range from start-ups to some of the larger medical teaching universities. In looking at the Web sites and emailing a few, I found them to be quite ready and willing to share their information.

Another appendix, titled "Biothreat: Transform or Risk Mass Death," contains important information about the threat of bioterrorism and the nation's readiness to meet that challenge. It is sobering to think about potential bioterrorism attacks by hostile forces, but as 9/11 demonstrated, it is better to be prepared than to suffer the consequences.

This appendix ends with a plan of action for the federal government, written with the general reader in mind. It emphasizes vision and design and outlines a process that might be used in dealing with a bioterror attack and its aftermath.

The book bears enthusiastic recommendations from Business Week, National Interest editor John O'Sullivan, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, AARP Executive Director and CEO William D. Novelli, and Dean Ornish, M.D., founder and president of the Preventative Medicine Research Institute and clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

The release of Saving Lives & Saving Money coincided with the launch of the Center for Health Transformation at http://www.healthtransformation.net. Its mission, according to Woodbury, is to identify currently available health care procedures that provide better outcomes at lower cost, and to foster their implementation by sharing those solutions with the widest range of individuals, purchasers, providers, and government decision makers.

Saving Lives & Saving Money was published by the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution and is available for purchase at http://www.healthtransformation.net as well as Amazon.com.

Conrad F. Meier is senior fellow in health policy at The Heartand Institute and Editor Emeritus of Health Care News.

Answered many questions, provoked thought, led to other questions. Pointed to EMR as necessary in medicine, strengthened personal responsibility argument

As the health care system in America continues its end run toward a total breakdown, in this new book, Newt Gingrich, with collaborators Dana Pavey and Anne Woodbury, leads the way in offering viable and sensible solutions to some of the major health care challenges currently facing Americans.

We are all "consumers" of health care. Why shouldn't we be treated with the same respect for quality and efficiency that we have grown to expect from the local Kwikie mart?

Mr. Gingrich advocates a transformation in the way the business of health care is conducted in our country. He compares the efficiency of the modern American business with the inefficiencies of our current health care practices. Then he exposes the current systems' out dated methods and contradictions. Why not approach health care with a client centered model as business does? Of course, this would mean a re-organization of health care practices from the current quagmire of time wasting and paper pushing to one that uses the same qualities we value in the "real world," i.e. transparency, accuracy in measuring outcomes and technological innovation. And the strange thing is, Newt shows that this would actually save money as well!

"Saving Lives & Saving Money" while being a book of interest to every American, is also a good and interesting read. Some of Newt's ideas, like having computerized prescriptions, which would reduce the errors caused by doctor's infamously unreadable handwriting, are so simple and so clear, that you really have to wonder why this isn't the common practice now.

Chapter Eight, which outlines a new model for the care and management of diabetics, is especially relevant when one looks at the explosion of diabetes in the United States today. Who doesn't have a relative with this disease? Another great chapter is the one on healthy aging, which will continue to be a prominent topic in health care as the baby-boomers reach retirement age. As a boomer myself, I would welcome the changes called for in this book, especially the focus on maintaining your health before you lose it.

Amazingly, some companies in America are currently developing the solutions that Mr. Gingrich suggests. A list of these innovating companies is found in Appendix A, for those who would like to follow up or use their services. These include some of the larger medical teaching universities as well as start-ups. In looking at the websites and emailing a few, I found them eager to provide information about their specialties. I would recommend taking the time to check them out.

Appendix B, "Biothreat: Transform or Risk Mass Death" contains important information about the threat of bioterrorism and our readiness to meet this challenge. It is sobering to contemplate a bioterrorism attack by hostile forces. But as 9/11 demonstrated, it is better to be prepared than to have innocent lives suffer the consequences. This chapter ends with a plan of action for our government, which has been written with the general reader in mind. It emphasizes vision and design and outlines a process that might be used in dealing with an attack and its aftermath.

This book really makes you rethink the delivery of health care in this country. Sure, you know it's a mess, but here are some great solutions, with some people who are already putting these solutions into action. I sincerely hope that people will read this book, and start talking about real health care reform and pressuring their doctors and other health care providers to make some changes.

Our health care system would improve and the cost would go down
if the people of our country would read this book. It is powerful and could really change our country for the better.

No matter your political persuasion, Gingrich employs years of critical thinking to outline (and detail) a potent perscription for our national healthcare industry. Interested citizens should take note!

Newt Gingrich may be viewed by many as being a visionary, but when it comes to a keen understanding of the American disease care system and what it would take to transform it, Mr. Gingrich is quite blind. Here are a few of the things that Newt has failed to see at all, based on the contents of this book:
 That "market forces" cannot solve the crisis because no market exists. If patients knew the difference between a colonoscopy and a colposcopy, they would certainly not know the fair market value of either procedure. When negotiating to buy a new car, the dealer knows you can walk off at any moment. A patient cannot walk off, cannot negotiate price, and cannot determine the kind or quantity of services they need.
 That the dominance of the commercial viewpoint in conventional medicine has become the most corrosive single force in medical practice, explaining the majority of its too often hideous aberrations. Abraham Flexner's cogent warnings about the dangers here have been ignored, at our peril.
 That the current physician workforce is poorly aligned professionally with the actual needs of the entire society for medical care.
 That there is today a complete absence of general medical management, with generalist physicians being at best marginally trained to fulfill this essential role.
 That the prevalent approach to the selection and the training of physicians is fundamentally flawed.
 That the suppliers of medical services are the principal regulators of the demand for those services, a complete perversion of normal market forces.
 That conventional medicine has confused technology with real science, with the result that, as A.M. Taylor has put it, "the inventions of the craftsman are mistaken for the discoveries of the savant."
 That Hippocratic tradition has been trashed by conventional medicine, along with any detectable signs of reverence on the part of physicians for the complexities and idiosyncrasies of human organisms - the subject and object of medical practice. In conventional American medicine, the Assumption of Simplicity has virtually trumped the hard realities of complexity.
 That American medicine is controlled by a guild built on the feudal model. The AMA rules as an absolute dictatorship, employing fear as a primary means of maintaining dominance and control, and functioning with structures and patterns that can be found in the contemporary period among the Taliban of Afghanistan.

Given these stubborn realities, there is simply no way in which "consumers" of disease care services will ever be able to overcome the preferences held by a treating physician as to the kind and quantity of such services that a specific "consumer" requires. It is naïve in the extreme to believe otherwise. Physicians who are coherently and effectively trained to be general managers of clinical medicine starting at the point of first contact - the primary care setting - are the only actors who can bring about the radical transformations that will be necessary to prevent the total collapse of American disease care, an eventuality that Newt Gingrich rightly judges to be now evident on the horizon. Mr. Gingrich's book does not, however, even slightly scratch the surface of how to practically change any aspect of the disease care system in ways that would do more good than harm.