"Why Is Changing Health Care So Hard?"

In this provocative and much-needed book, health care expert Dr. Donald Berwick shares eleven of his most compelling speeches. These unforgettable speeches (which were delivered at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care from 1992 to 2002) dramatically show that we need to create a new system that guarantees that every patient has the benefit of care drawn from the best scientific knowledge available. No mere diatribe, Berwick's vision for change includes practical suggestions and tools that can truly transform our broken system and puts the patient at the center of the health care system.

"In this vibrant book, Don Berwick speaks about one of the most vexing issues of our time with compelling competence, penetrating clarity, relentless honesty, and heart-warming humor. In an era when so many public voices lack these qualities, Berwick gives us reason to hope that our most difficult social problems have solutions that are within reach. We are the solution, of course-if we are willing to emulate the intellectual and moral courage modeled by leaders like Don Berwick."
-Parker J. Palmer, author, The Courage to Teach and Let Your Life Speak

"[Berwick's] target is a health care system that has evolved primarily to serve the needs and interests of those who work in the system-doctors, nurses, administrators, payors, insurers-rather than the needs and interests of patients."
-from the Introduction by Frank Davidoff

Promising Care: How We Can Rescue Health Care by Improving It collects 16 speeches given over a period of 10 years by Donald M. Berwick, an internationally acclaimed champion of health care improvement throughout the course of his long and storied career as a physician, health care educator and policy expert, leader of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), and administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. These landmark speeches (including all of Berwick s speeches delivered at IHI s annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care from 2003 to 2012) clearly show why our medical systems don t reliably contribute to our overall health. As a remedy he offers a vision for making our systems better safer, more effective, more efficient, and more humane. Each of Berwick s compelling speeches is preceded by a brief commentary by a prominent figure in health care, policy, or politics who has a unique connection to that particular speech. Contributors include such notables as Tom Daschle, Paul Batalden, and Lord Nigel Crisp. Their commentaries reflect on how it felt to hear the speech in the context in which it was delivered, and assess its relevance in today s health care environment. The introduction is by Maureen Bisognano, CEO of Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and author of Pursuing the Triple Aim. Praise for previous books by Don Berwick Curing Health Care: "The book is an easy and affirming read for anyone who is familiar with and has used the TQM teachings of Dr. Joseph M. Juran and Dr. W. Edwards Deming and would be a simple and informative introduction to the concepts for anyone who has been hearing about TQM but has no idea what it is all about and wants to know more." Permanent Fixes (blog) "Donald Berwick is the most clearly heard evangelist of applying industrial methods of continuous quality improvement in health care." Annals of Internal Medicine Escape Fire: "With an effective blend of common sense, real-life stories, persuasive metaphors, and out-of-the-box thinking, Dr. Berwick s presentations make for fascinating reading for anyone interested in improving America s $1.7 trillion health care system." Piper Report "Anyone interested in change in the healthcare system would enjoy this book. In degree programs, the various speeches would be useful for discussion in a health policy readings course." The Annals of Pharmacotherapy

Applying Quality-Assurance Methods

A Report on the National Demonstration Project on Quality Improvement in Health Care

This book is recommAnded for managers wanting to enhance service quality and productivity. By avoiding mistakes and useless units of activity, gains in productivity occur as quality improves.
--Healthcare Financial Management

Learn how health care organizations can use the quality improvement process to help regain control and hope in a time of frustration and skyrocketing costs. In ten key lessons, the authors demonstrate what works and does not work in actual practice. They present case examples of specific health care improvement projects ranging from transport of critically ill infants to quick turnaround of emergency lab specimens and to the generation of accurate Medicare bills.