Opinion: Constant, rapid testing is key to creating the ‘learning health system’ of the future
The view that health care systems of the future will be "learning health systems" is inspiring. Routine experimentation to identify what works and what doesn't is the way to make…
In this era of evidence-based medicine, you’d be right to expect hospitals and doctor’s offices to base their operational interventions on evidence, too. The reality is, they don’t.
Instead, most try to encourage evidence-based care by doing things that seem like good ideas: sending mailers, putting up posters, calling patients, adding alerts to electronic health records, engaging community health workers, and involving care managers. Most of the time it’s impossible to tell whether such interventions actually improve outcomes like obtaining preventive care, preventing people from being readmitted to the hospital, or receiving evidence-based treatment.
And here’s the real kicker: Hospitals also don’t
