Useful Models for Reform?...Mayo and Cleveland Clinics

by Tom aka Rusty RustbeltUseful Models for Reform?President Obama often cites the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic as models for providers in a new age of health care reform.Question: Can these two models be replicated all through the country?Answer: Not likely.The Mayo Clinic is sole but has replicated itself a a small number of times, and the Cleveland Clinic is sole and to the best of our knowledge has not been replicated.Even if these models could be replicated, it is unlikely they could be replicated in any but some urban areas. And if they could, the change cost in most markets would be immense, and who would pay for that? (the new Mayo Clinics are in high growth and very prosperous areas, Florida and Arizona) The cost of merging tens of thousands of physician groups into hospital entities would be gi-normous.Can we learn anything from these organizations. Yes. Can we duplicate these models in previous areas? Not likely, and certainly not in the near term.___________________________________________Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt
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