The German health care system is on a collision course with budget realities. Costs are high and rising, and quality problems are becoming ever more apparent. Decades of reforms have produced little change to
these troubling trends.
Why has Germany failed to solve these cost and quality problems? The reason is that Germany has not set value for patients as the overarching goal, defined as the patient health
outcomes achieved per euro expended.
This book lays out an action agenda to move Germany to a high value system: care must be reorganized around patients and their medical conditions, providers must compete
around the outcomes they achieve, health plans must take an active role in improving subscriber health, and payment must shift to models that reward excellent providers. Also, private insurance must be integrated in the
risk-pooling system.
These steps are practical and achievable, as numerous examples in the book demonstrate. Moving to a value-based health care system is the only way for Germany to continue to ensure
access to excellent health care for everyone.
Industry Reviews
We must thank the authors of Redefining German Health Care for changing the language of the current health care debate. Their book makes a passionate argument for moving the health care discussion beyond cost control, health insurance premiums and risk pooling. It is health outcomes that matter to patients, not insurance premiums per se. Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. Eckhard Nagel, Institute for Medical Management and Health Sciences University of Bayreuth and Chief Medical Officer University Hospital Essen, Germany The introduction of competition among health insurances in Germany was successful. However, it is long overdue to instil value-adding competition to the provider side. This is convincingly demonstrated by Michael Porter and Clemens Guth in their excellent adaption of the original Redefining Health Care book. Prof. Dr. Norbert Klusen, Chief Executive Officer Techniker Krankenkasse, Hamburg, Germany In the book Redefining German Health Care, Michael Porter and Clemens Guth establish clear, actionable steps which providers and health plans should take to maximize patient value. They argue that every provider should focus their service lines, measure outcomes and organise integrated care around medical conditions. This book is inspiring and a must read for health care managers." Prof. Dr. Karl Max Einhaupl, Chief Executive Officer Charite -- Universitatsmedizin, Berlin, Germany Physicians and provider organizations must make outcome measurement core to their activities. Outcome measurement demonstrates that not the volume but the results of care matter. Superior providers will benefit from transparency of results, either through pay-for-performance or simply through more patients. Redefining German Health Care shows us convincingly how we can embark on this course. Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Peter C. Scriba, Chairman of the Research Board of the German Medical Association, former Vice-President of Health Care Advisory Council and Chief Medical Officer of Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital, Munich, Germany The book "Redefining German Health Care" by Michael Porter and Clemens Guth provides a fact-based analysis of the development of the German health care system. On the one hand, the analysis and assessment demonstrates the system's substantial achievements (also with respect to other countries), while, on the other hand, it speaks clearly about the system's shortcomings, which are highlighted by concrete examples. The reader is presented with logical arguments for structurally changing the health care system, building on the already achieved benefits. Both authors rightly assume that better quality in conjunction with appropriate financing and incentive schemes will lead to higher cost efficiency, as shown in other industries. The system will not improve without an honest debate over the current system's challenges. This book makes a significant contribution to that process. Prof. Dr. Jurgen Wettke, Director Healthcare Practice McKinsey & Company, Duesseldorf, Germany
