How does today’s competition differ from value-based competition?
The current competition in health care is dysfunctional. Competition is taking place at the wrong levels and on the wrong things. Instead of competition that creates value for patients, it has gravitated to a zero-sum competition in which the gains of one system participant come at the expense of others. Participants compete to shift costs to one another, accumulate bargaining power, and limit services. This kind of competition does not crate value for patients, but erodes quality, fosters inefficiency, creates excess capacity and drives up administrative costs, among other nefarious effects. But zero sum competition is not inherent in the nature of competition, or in the nature of health care, as we discuss in this book. This book focuses on how to redefine competition around value and improving results. Competing on patient results is a positive sum competition from which all system participants can benefit. When providers succeed in delivering superior value, not only do they win, b
