Straight talk from Don Berwick, including the point I feel is most important to get across to patients:
Finally, Berwick stressed that patients need to unlearn the notion that “more care equals better care.” And U.S. patients become more “mature” (by which he means wiser, not older), they must learn to think collectively, recognizing that we are all in this healthcare system together —and that we live in a world of finite resources. The individual who is cared for at the most costly and aggressive hi-tech medical center that U.S. New & World Report “rates” as one of the nation’s “best” may think that he is getting better care, but in fact, there is no evidence that this is true.
Accepting this fact is the first step in realizing that saying “no” is a concept that patients will inevitably have to face.
