by Tony Chen

Apparently a lot more than we thought. Read this op-ed in the WSJ on an op-ed piece in the NYT. Here's the money quote from the article written by Newt Gingrinch, John Kerry, and the data-driven-decision-making GM of the Oakland A's:

America’s health care system behaves like a hidebound, tradition-based ball club that chases after aging sluggers and plays by the old rules: we pay too much and get too little in return. To deliver better health care, we should learn from the successful teams that have adopted baseball’s new evidence-based methods. The best way to start improving quality and lowering costs is to study the stats.

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They are calling for a national institute of evidence-based medicine. Good idea in theory, and a good start, but the devil's in the details. There is indeed a need to get battle-tested best practices out there to physicians from a neutral source. It simply takes too long for that too happen today. But a lot of the new research and emerging data coming up would have to be treated very carefully - that's where it gets sticky.

For me, this baseball season hasn't been a lesson about data-driven decision-making as it has been about the importance of strong leadership. Those pesky, underpaid Tampa Bay Rays are a case study on leadership and teamwork. Multi-million dollar ballplayers can work together with their admin people to focus solely on the experience of their customers -- the fans. Then why can't we?