Chinese whispers may explain why new fads fail
Why are new ideas like lean, total quality management and business process re-engineering so talked about and so little practiced in healthcare services? I stumbled across an amusing paper – Pseudo-understanding: an analysis of the dilution of value in healthcare – which might explain why.
The Swedish authors looked at 186 papers (over two thirds of which were American) written on Michael Porter’s seminal idea of value-based healthcare. They found that a quarter of the papers actively misinterpreted Porter’s concepts and that NONE of the papers actually took the concept forward into a new area successfully.
Many of the papers appear to have been written by practitioners, rather than academics. Worryingly, the more prestigious the journal, the more likely Porter’s ideas would be misrepresented!
In a section entitled “We might not actually stand on the shoulders of giants” the authors suggest “for policymakers and managers, it may be of greater importance to maintain legitimacy by embracing the latest trend, rather than to do what is best for the organisation.”
They suggest that if people “have not invested in developing a deep understanding of the concept, it can be easier to look for the new one when the novelty has worn off.” The solution? Only serious “reflection” really allows the concepts to be understood and properly deployed. That is something that the industry lacks.
Pseudo-understanding: an analysis of the dilution of value in healthcare. Jens Jacob Fredriksson, David Ebbevi, Carl Savage.
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