Health Care Should Be More Like Baseball

We need better statistics to make sound judgments

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 24, 2008 2:05 PM CDT

(Newser) – If the US health care industry were a baseball team, it’d be “a hidebound, tradition-based ball club that chases after aging sluggers,” write Billy Beane, John Kerry, and Newt Gingrich in the New York Times. The US spends egregiously on health care but gets little in return, like the high-payroll Yankees, Tigers, and Mets. Health care needs its own version of sabermetrics—stat-based analysis that can cut costs and improve performance.

Studies show that doctors operate mostly on informed opinion, personal observation, and tradition. “A doctor today can get more data on the starting third baseman on his fantasy baseball team than on the effectiveness of life-and-death medical procedures,” they write, and that needs to change. The government and private sector should create an institute for evidence-based medicine, and reward the wise medical teams who follow its suggestions.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (2)]

Baseball shouldn't be a smarter business than Healthcare. (Shutterstock)

It's time the medical field followed stats as avidly as ball clubs do. (Shutterstock)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

A doctor today can get more data on the starting third baseman on his fantasy baseball team than on the effectiveness of life-and-death medical procedures. - Billy Beane, Newt Gingrich and John Kerry

America’s health care system behaves like a hidebound, tradition-based ball club that chases after aging sluggers - Billy Beane, Newt Gingrich and John Kerry

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Gingrich Backed Individual Health Care Mandate

And other big government programs that benefited his clients: NYT

(NEWSER) - These days, like most Republicans, Newt Gingrich says he's opposed to the individual mandate in the Democrats' health care reform bill, which forces Americans to hold insurance. But in a May 2009 conference call with health care executives, Gingrich sang a very different tune, the New York Times has learned. "We believe there should be must-carry; that is, everybody should have health insurance," Gingrich said, "or, if you're an absolute libertarian, we would allow you to post a bond." More»

On Way Out, Medicare Boss Bashes 'Extreme' Waste

Donald Berwick says 20-30% of health care spending helps no one

(NEWSER) - Between 20% and 30% of all US health care spending is pure “waste,” according to departing Medicare and Medicaid chief Donald Berwick. “Much is done that does not help patients at all, and many physicians know it,” Berwick said in an interview with the New York Times on Thursday, his last day on the job. He cited overtreatment of patients, the failure to coordinate care, complex administrative systems, burdensome regulations, and fraud as the main reasons for the “extremely high level of waste.” More»

Health-Care Firms Paid Gingrich's Think Tank $37M

...and some of its policy advice echoed ObamaCare

(NEWSER) - More consulting trouble for Newt. Since 2003, a Gingrich-founded think tank has pulled in at least $37 million from the health-care industry—and has called for an insurance mandate reminiscent of President Obama’s. Wellpoint, Blue Cross Blue Shield, AstraZeneca, and other members of the Center for Health Transformation paid as much as $200,000 in yearly dues; in exchange, they got “direct Newt interaction,” or at least so promised the think tank's promotional materials, the Washington Post reports. Gingrich ran the center until he left this year for the campaign trail. More»

States Want OK to Cut Medicaid—Without Penalty

Governors battle Washington over measure in health reform law

(NEWSER) - America's 29 states led by Republican governors are asking Washington to give them the green light to cut thousands from Medicaid—without being penalized. The health care reform law says that states that reduce eligibility for the program will lose federal funding, and these cash-strapped states (along with, quietly, some Democrat-helmed ones) want the federal government to waive the rule. More»

White House, Unions Reach Deal on 'Cadillac Tax'

Agreement clears one of the biggest obstacles to final bill

(NEWSER) - The White House has struck a deal with unions on how to tax generous health insurance policies, one of the last major sticking points in crafting a final bill. Few details are available on the agreement over the so-called "Cadillac tax," but President Obama is expected to visit House Democrats later today to sell it, reports the Los Angeles Times . More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Health Care Should Be More Like Baseball

We need better statistics to make sound judgments

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (2)]

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

health care • health care costs • Newt Gingrich • Oakland Athletics • John Kerry • sabermetrics • health care reform • baseball • Billy Beane

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Gingrich Backed Individual Health Care Mandate

And other big government programs that benefited his clients: NYT

On Way Out, Medicare Boss Bashes 'Extreme' Waste

Donald Berwick says 20-30% of health care spending helps no one

Health-Care Firms Paid Gingrich's Think Tank $37M

...and some of its policy advice echoed ObamaCare

States Want OK to Cut Medicaid—Without Penalty

Governors battle Washington over measure in health reform law

White House, Unions Reach Deal on 'Cadillac Tax'

Agreement clears one of the biggest obstacles to final bill

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?

Health Care Should Be More Like Baseball

We need better statistics to make sound judgments

Bookmark & Share

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (2)]

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

health care • health care costs • Newt Gingrich • Oakland Athletics • John Kerry • sabermetrics • health care reform • baseball • Billy Beane

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Gingrich Backed Individual Health Care Mandate

And other big government programs that benefited his clients: NYT

On Way Out, Medicare Boss Bashes 'Extreme' Waste

Donald Berwick says 20-30% of health care spending helps no one

Health-Care Firms Paid Gingrich's Think Tank $37M

...and some of its policy advice echoed ObamaCare

States Want OK to Cut Medicaid—Without Penalty

Governors battle Washington over measure in health reform law

White House, Unions Reach Deal on 'Cadillac Tax'

Agreement clears one of the biggest obstacles to final bill

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?