title: The Service-Profit Chain in Spine Surgery.
abstract: Medicine has always been a service industry (as opposed to a manufacturing industry), as there is a shift from volume to value in health care, this point is becoming increasingly important. The delivery of good care extends beyond the technical aspects of performing a complex operation or prescribing the right type of medicine. Intuitively physicians have always understood the value of the physician-patient relationship, and its correlation to a good outcome. As patients are increasingly being forced to spend a greater portion of their personal income on health care through high-deductible plans and larger co-pays, physicians have to differentiate themselves through the delivery of great service beyond the delivery of superior health outcomes. Understanding the service-profit chain can help physicians succeed in the transition to a value-based health care system.
authors.affiliation: *The WESTMED Spine Center, Yonkers, NY†The Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Alok D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Sharan
authors.forename: Gregory D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Schroeder
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: Alexander R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Vaccaro
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods; D006269:Health Facilities, Proprietary / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000191:economics* / Q000601:surgery*; D013131:Spine / Q000601:surgery