Feb. 2018 Letter from the Executive Director: “First, Do No Harm” Report Makes a Splash
Last week the Alliance released our new report on health care waste in Washington, “First, Do No Harm,” and the response has been outstanding. The report has been featured in dozens of news stories, both nationally and locally, including NPR and ProPublica, Modern Healthcare, MyNorthwest/KIRO, the Tacoma News Tribune, and the Spokesman-Review. I would also like to thank Cassie Sauer, president and CEO of WSHA, and Jennifer Hanscom, executive director and CEO of WSMA, for their public and private support of this work.
In addition, we had a full house at our All-Alliance meeting on Thursday and were treated to great discussion and presentations from Dr. John Mafi and Dr. Matt Handley. Alliance Deputy Director Susie Dade gave an overview of the findings from our report and outlined action steps stakeholders can take to reduce waste in health care. If you missed the meeting or would like to review the presentations, a webinar recording and copy of the PowerPoint is available to members.
Our team also created an overview Highlight of the report, which allows you to easily see key findings and action steps. The Highlight includes interactive visualizations, where users can view wasteful services by county or Health Service Area, as well as the cost of the wasteful services in a particular region.
For purchasers, or anyone else who may be interested in using the findings from the report for a more general audience, we have published a 2-page infographic highlighting key data and messages for consumers.
If you haven’t already read the report and the related resources, I encourage you to do so. Clearly the findings show tremendous opportunity to improve, and we’re excited to bring together stakeholders to maintain the momentum. We look forward to working with you as we implement the action steps outlined in the report and reduce the amount of low-value care in Washington’s health care system.
Sincerely,
Nancy A. Giunto
Executive Director
Washington Health Alliance