Article at a glance:

Transforming US hospitals

• US hospitals must learn to compete on value to cope with new competitive threats and greater transparency about quality, service, and prices. For most, this effort will require nothing less than a total transformation.
• Hospitals can take lessons from a few pioneering hospitals that emphasize excellence by competing in carefully chosen service lines rather than trying to excel in all clinical services.
• Such a hospital aligns the behavior of physicians with its own priorities by changing the way it manages and compensates them. Further, it systematically attempts to excel in clinical quality, service, and patient satisfaction.