Hospital to Offer Warranty

from the Chicago Tribune…

“Why shouldn’t doctors stand by their work, especially given what we pay for service?

This is the idea behind the radical “surgery with a warranty” program launched by Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania, which essentially pays surgeons for their patients’ outcome, rather than their effort.

The program, called ProvenCare, charges a flat fee that includes 90 days of follow-up treatment on elective heart bypass surgery. The warranty charges more upfront for the surgery, but covers post-surgical outcomes and is seen as a revolutionary business model in health care. “