“Dr. Ideas” – Magazine Article Featuring John Toussaint

In what looks like a badly Photoshopped cover – it's a real photo, I've confirmed – INSIGHT Magazine, a Wisconsin business publication, has an article worth reading about Dr. John Toussaint and ThedaCare.

The article link is here: “Dr. Ideas: John Toussaint, M.D. leads way in remedies for health care crisis“

The article is a good summary of the ThedaCare story as a possible  precursor  to reading the whole story on their book On the Mend: Revolutionizing Healthcare to Save Lives and Transform the Industry.

“I realized that we can't keep going on this path of rising health costs. Our economy can't handle it,” says Toussaint, who served as ThedaCare's CEO from 2000 through 2008, when he left to launch the ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value.  

Toussaint says in Wisconsin, the cost of care is relatively low and the effectiveness of care, high. According to the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, patient outcomes for comparable procedures among Medicare patients 65 and older rank in the 88th percentile in Green Bay and Appleton, while costs average about $6,950. Compare that to Miami, Fla., where outcomes rank 77 percent and costs average $17,274; or McAllen, Texas, where outcomes rank 74 percent and costs average $15,700.

Lots of good stuff to read in the article…

Sorry for the short post today — more later this afternoon, so check back for an update on my goings on the last couple of days.