LA Times - Seattle: Where Employers Use Quality Control To Shape Health Care

Note from Brian. Yesterday's LA Times ran this article, which describes how major Seattle employers - e.g., Boeing, Costco, Starbucks and Nordstroms - have worked with local health systems, like Virginia Mason Medical Center, on quality assurance systems, including standardized processes and precise scheduling, to achieve better health outcomes at lower cost.

There is much to be learned here. One lesson is that is that nearly all health systems have room for significant improvement. Another is that successful community templates, like the one in Seattle, are available to guide quality assurance efforts elsewhere. A third is that, with sufficient market pressure from purchasers, most health systems will be receptive to demands for better, more cost-effective care.

While the article focused on large employers, regional business health coalitions can achieve the same leverage by aggregating the collective purchasing heft of their members employers, unions and local governments.

No doubt several of our own coalitions are already headed down this path. We'd welcome updates from them on this blog so we can share your experiences with the larger coalition community.