Why Nobody Believes the Numbers: Distinguishing Fact from Fiction in Population Health Management

Front Cover
John Wiley & Sons, Jun 11, 2012 - Business & Economics - 240 pages

Why Nobody Believes the Numbers introduces a unique viewpoint to population health outcomes measurement: Results/ROIs should be presented as they are, not as we wish they would be. This viewpoint contrasts sharply with vendor/promoter/consultant claims along two very important dimensions:

(1) Why Nobody Believes presents outcomes/ROIs achievable right here on this very planet...

(2) ...calculated using actual data rather than controlled substances.

Indeed, nowhere in healthcare is it possible to find such sharply contrasting worldviews, methodologies, and grips on reality.

Why Nobody Believes the Numbers includes 12 case studies of vendors, carriers, and consultants who were apparently playing hooky the day their teacher covered fifth-grade math, as told by an author whose argument style can be so persuasive that he was once able to convince a resort to sell him a timeshare. The book's lesson: no need to believe what your vendor tells you -- instead you can estimate your own savings using “ingredients you already have in your kitchen.” Don't be intimidated just because you lack a PhD in biostatistics, or even a Masters, Bachelor's, high-school equivalency diploma or up-to-date inspection sticker.

Why Nobody Believes the Numbers explains how to determine if the ROIs are real...and why they usually aren't. You'll learn how to:

  • Figure out whether you are "moving the needle" or just crediting a program with changes that would have happened anyway
  • Judge whether the ROIs your vendors report are plausible or even arithmetically possible
  • Synthesize all these insights into RFPs and contracts that truly hold vendors accountable for results
 

Selected pages

Contents

Plausibility Testing How to Measure Outcomes Using Ingredients You Already Have in Your
Case Studies ThatFlunk Every Plausibility
Case Studies That Flunk Every Plausibility
Achieving Dramatic Reductions inRisk Factorsand Medical Spending by Implementing Offthe Shelf Wellness Programs Not
Case Studies of Where When and
Glossary
Disease Management Programs That
Bibliography and Further Reading
Copyright

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Why Nobody Believes the Numbers: Distinguishing Fact from Fiction in ...
Al Lewis
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Common terms and phrases

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About the author (2012)

AL LEWIS, President of the Disease Management Purchasing Consortium, is widely credited with inventing disease management and was named "the national leader in analyzing care management outcomes" in the 9th Annual Report on the Disease Management and Wellness Industries. He provides procurement and outcomes consulting to health plans and human resources/benefits departments, and administers the industry certification program in Critical Outcomes Report Analysis. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Harvard.

Bibliographic information

TitleWhy Nobody Believes the Numbers: Distinguishing Fact from Fiction in Population Health Management
AuthorAl Lewis
Editionillustrated
PublisherJohn Wiley & Sons, 2012
ISBN1118332067, 9781118332061
Length240 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Business & Economics / General
Business & Economics / Insurance / Health
Business & Economics / Management
Medical / Public Health
  
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