University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
n=1
Book

n=1

How the Uniqueness of Each Individual Is Transforming Healthcare

John Koster, Gary Bisbee and Ram Charan
Prospecta Press, 2015
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Health care is undergoing rapid internal and external change, thanks to digitization and “disruptive scientific innovation.” Struggling leaders can easily lose sight of the big picture of transformation. Health-system experts John Koster, MD, and Gary Bisbee, PhD, and leadership and change expert Ram Charan explain the needs of the unique, individual health care consumer – whom they call the “n = 1.” The health care industry’s ability to meet this aware customer’s discriminating demands will determine each provider’s success or failure. Health care leaders must question every aspect of their work to handle the coming challenges, so the authors provide strategic questions at the end of each chapter. getAbstract recommends their useful workbook to health care CEOs, strategists, physician groups and other “disrupters” in today’s medical fields.

Summary

Factors Driving the Changes in Health Care

The passage and implementation of the US Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are crucial factors that drive change in health care in America, but they’re not the only elements involved. Digitization and “disruptive scientific innovation” are also roiling medicine. The cost of care, the relocation of risk from insurers to providers and patients, and the sophistication of today’s health care consumer – the individual “n = 1” – further complicate America’s health care industry.

The shorthand n = 1 describes a “biologically, psychologically and sociologically unique individual” who selects products and services to suit his or her specific requirements. Deliberate, discerning consumers add further pressures to providers’ ability to deliver services. To cope with this massively changing world, health care leaders must bring about change in their organizations before change overtakes them. They must question every aspect of their work, delving deeply and perceptively into their practices to “beget thinking” and inspire people to focus.

Technology’s “Transformative Forces”

Digitization and disruptive scientific...

About the Authors

John Koster, MD, is the former president of Providence Health & Services. Gary Bisbee Jr., PhD, leads The Health Management Academy. Ram Charan is an author and a business consultant who specializes in building organizations.

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