The Role of Data and Making Decisions in the Hospital

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Bob Greene: I think to a large extent we come to over depend on our medical practitioners as superheroes. He says the more involved family members can be in the care of their loved one when they're in the hospital, the better the overall coordination of care will be. Greene: BJC has an organization called the Center for Healthcare Quality and Effectiveness. It's made 68 black belt staff who are trained in Lean Six sigma techniques.

Steven Lipstein, President and CEO of BJC HealthCare--a $3 billion hospital system in St. Louis, Missouri--talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the economics of hospitals. They discuss pricing, the advantages and disadvantages of specialization in modern medical care, and culture and governance of non-profit hospitals vs. for-profit hospitals. At the end they talk about the positives and negatives of a national health board patterned after the Federal Reserve.