For all of its dazzling breakthroughs, modern medicine is still bedeviled by an achingly practical problem: how to identify and deliver the best health care practices to patients in a timely manner. Across the nation, hospitals are working to improve quality and affordability of care, recognizing the need to contribute to a healthier nation. The National Institutes of Health estimates that it takes about 17 years for many scientific discoveries to become standard treatments. This Gordian knot is being untied in the state of Michigan and a handful of other states, thanks to a simple yet profound observation: Physicians and nurses can dramatically improve health care by comparing notes.
Curing Health Care With a Dose of Big Data and Common Sense
