By Healthcare Facilities Today

No matter how Obamacare shakes out, the biggest challenge facing U.S. health care will remain reducing costs while improving quality of care and access for patients, according an opinion piece on the Monterey Herald's website by Vijay Govindarajan, a professor of international business at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

The experience of a few innovative Indian hospitals may point the way forward, Govindarajan said.

India's health care system as a whole has many problems, but our research has uncovered nine private hospitals that provide quality health care at a fraction of U.S. prices. Most of these hospitals are accredited by the U.S.-based Joint Commission International or its Indian equivalent, the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers, according to Govindarajan. 

How do the Indian hospitals do it? They have innovated in three areas, and for each of these, U.S. hospitals would do well to follow their example, according to the article.

The first innovation is using a hub-and-spoke design, with hub hospitals located in major cities and spoke hospitals in rural areas. 

The second innovation is the transfer of responsibility for routine tasks to lower-skilled workers. 

Finally, the Indian hospitals save money through old-fashioned frugality. 

How realistic is it that U.S. hospitals will adopt the Indian model? U.S. hospitals are constrained by regulations and norms unlike those in India. Nevertheless, some progressive U.S. hospitals are adopting some of the practices of our Indian exemplars, and more should follow their example, according to Govindarajan. 

Read the article.