What can healthcare learn from Sears? Time for a Hospital DNR.

When Sears failed to innovate and execute and keep up with competitors it was allowed to die of natural causes and in its place something new emerged. Here's a story of how the once glorious retailer died of natural causes and is now being reborn as a center of fresher retailers and creative workspace.This is a healthy cycle of life. Dying malls are allowed the dignity of DNR (Do Not Resuscitate). Why can't we DNR hospitals and let something better emerge? Legislators and regulator continue to artificially keep hospitals alive by allowing hospitals to charge more for the same services offered by more efficient providers, needlessly protect wasteful Emergency Room from competitors, Hospitals have convinced legislators and regulators that they are job creator and vital for economies. Nothing could be further from the truth. They are a massive drag on the economy and if allowed to compete head-on and to fail, we'd experience a decrease in the cost of care that would benefit all, and a next generation of more efficient services would replace hospitals. If we allow hospitals to compete on their own two feet, on their own cost structure, with real not fake prices, they'd die a natural death and something much better would rise in its place. - Sanders DiPiero

Harvard Business Review: Health Care Needs Real Competition

Watch: We Went Inside a Sears and Saw Why It's Dying