Product Overview
An ACHE James A. Hamilton Book of the Year Award Winner
| Synopsis |
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Finally there is a book for healthcare leaders that only comes along once in a generation. Dr. David Lawrence shares with the readers his vast experience in leading the largest non-profit health system in the country.
He describes what a leader is: One who says, “Let’s get it done.” A leader is one with a vision, who enables his/her team to stretch themselves, who builds a team of leaders, who can lead change, who can work with both physicians and boards of directors, who is fearless, and most of all, who is humble.
This book suggests practical strategies that can be adapted in any healthcare setting. There are gems in every chapter that bring one to say: “Why didn’t I think of that?" Or "Why didn’t I do that?”
This is a must read for today’s healthcare leaders that want to lead their organizations in rapidly changing times, to improve their leadership, or for any aspiring leader that wants to take on more responsibility. It should be required reading for every graduate student in an MHA program or an Executive Healthcare MBA program.
When I started out as a young hospital CEO in the mid-70s, having come up through the financial ranks, I asked Mardian Blair, my board chairman and the president of our healthcare system, if he could recommend a good book that I could read on healthcare leadership. He said that there weren’t any that he knew of. As a graduate student in Healthcare Management with the University of Minnesota in its Independent Studies Program (ISP), I asked my professors for a good book on healthcare leadership and received the same answer. My preceptor in the University of Minnesota ISP program, Roger G. Larson, former president of Metropolitan Hospitals (now Legacy Health System) in Portland, Oregon, also couldn’t recommend one. Finally, here it is.
We hope you enjoy the book as much as we did publishing it.
~~Jerry F. Pogue
| About The Author |
Dr. Lawrence served as CEO from 1991 and chairman from 1992 of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals until his retirement in 2002. He is a member of the boards of Agilent Technologies, McKesson Corporation, Proteus Digital Health, and Aditazz. He is a member of the Health Advisory Boards of the RAND Corporation; an advisor to the CEOs of SomaLogic, Inc., MedExpert, Inc., and TangramCare; associated with Artiman Ventures, and teaches at the Estes Park Institute. He consults with selected healthcare systems that pursue advanced integration strategies.
Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente in 1981, Dr. Lawrence worked in Public Health and Human Services in Multnomah County, OR and as a Peace Corps Physician; taught at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine and the School of Medicine; and advised the Ministry of Health of Chile.
Dr. Lawrence is a founding board member of the Lucian Leape Institute of the National Patient Safety Foundation and a Distinguished Advisor to the NPSF. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and the AOA physician honor society. He authored From Chaos to Care: The Promise of Team-Based Medicine (Perseus, 2002).
Dr. Lawrence received his bachelor’s degree from Amherst College (1962), his MD from the University of Kentucky (1966), his masters of Public Health from the University of Washington (1973). He completed his Residency in General Preventive Medicine at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Washington, and is Board Certified in General Preventive Medicine (1974). He has received honorary degrees from Amherst College, University of Kentucky, and Cornell University, and is a member of the University of Kentucky Alumni Hall of Fame and the University of Kentucky College of Public Health Hall of Fame.
To learn more about David Lawrence, MD and bringing him into your organization, please visit his Speaking Page.
| Reviews |
"This is a well-written, easy-to-read book by a "Hall-of-Fame" healthcare leader. But it is much more than that. It is full of ideas and insights that are worthy of study and reflection. The author describes what an action leader does and then self-critically observes those actions in order to learn and change himself and his organization. Everyone in health and medical care should read and study this book. Leaders in all walks of life will find that the leadership ideas apply to them."
Paul O’Neill, 72nd Secretary of the US Treasury
"David Lawrence provides a must read for today’s healthcare leaders intent on ensuring their organizations endure and thrive in a rapidly changing environment. He draws upon decades of personal experience and astute observation to create a guide to navigating large scale change in an industry that has historically been change averse and now must change at warp speed."
Gary S. Kaplan, MD, Chairman and CEO, Virginia Mason Health System, Seattle, Washington
"BEST CARE, BEST FUTURE is truly a must read for all healthcare executives. David Lawrence has put together what will become the playbook for individuals tasked with leading and transforming our healthcare system. In a very practical approach replete with great examples from Kaiser as well as other health systems, this book will certainly become the go to book for those of us trying to help right America's healthcare system."
David Feinberg, MD, MBA, CEO-UCLA Hospital System, Associate Vice Chancellor-UCLA Health, Los Angeles, California
"From start to finish, Dave Lawrence’s book is compelling and instructive. Dave is a renowned leader and his stories, vision, and practical strategies provide insight for today’s healthcare leaders preparing their organization for success in the future. The book should be required reading for all leaders."
Maulik S. Joshi, DrPH, President-Health Research & Educational Trust, Senior Vice President of Research-American Hospital Association, Chicago, Illinois
"Dr. David Lawrence’s new work is a candid, clear, and compelling handbook for leading change. Lawrence takes us inside the mind of great leaders and provides us with morally based, practical wisdom that is grounded in deep and raw experience. Lawrence delivers actionable advice for navigating in uncertain times. Don’t be fearful of the future. Learn from the best."
Ian Morrison, PhD, Healthcare Author, Consultant, and Futurist, Menlo Park, California
"A seasoned captain of healthcare transformation, David Lawrence provides a credible guide to navigate the permanent white water of today’s healthcare environment. With a heading set to continuous improvement, BEST CARE, BEST FUTURE maps out the roles of leadership, partnerships, and systems that ensure a safe arrival for the best care possible to all the patients we serve."
James A. Diegel, FACHE, President and CEO, St. Charles Health System, Bend, Oregon
"As the latest version of the healthcare reform unfolds, serious concerns about the rapidly rising cost, as well as uncertainty about quality, safety, and value signal that change is inevitable this time. There are few historical precedents for the kind of disruptive change that will be required to right our healthcare delivery system. However, in BEST CARE, BEST FUTURE, David Lawrence, informed by his depth of experience and refined notions of leadership, offers a frank and discerning "guide" for healthcare leaders embracing change. Offering uncommon clarity, Dr. Lawrence lays out a formula for the kind of healthcare leadership necessary to transform our healthcare delivery system–founded on ethical values and not about authority or title, but about influencing outcomes and inspiring others."
Michael L. Steinberg, MD, Chair of the Clinical Chairs, UCLA Health, Los Angeles, California
"In BEST CARE, BEST FUTURE, David Lawrence has created the most direct and powerful account yet of the challenges of leadership in transforming healthcare. Drawing on a decade at the helm of the largest private non-profit health system in the United States, Kaiser Permanente, he uses front-line accounts of difficult decisions, mistakes, and hard-fought wisdom–always tempered with humor and generosity–to argue the case for leadership that puts patients at the core of every decision."
Molly Joel Coye, MD, MPH, Chief Innovation Officer, UCLA Health, Los Angeles, California
"A wonderful read—wise, human, and honest. David’s leadership stories and defined building blocks are a master’s guide for improving care delivery."
Diane Cecchettini, RN, President & CEO, MultiCare Health System, Tacoma, Washington
"BEST CARE, BEST FUTURE gives us something few other books do; theory in the hands of a master practitioner. Drawing from the literatures on leadership and healthcare, and his own extensive experience, David Lawrence provides counsel to healthcare leaders, both new and seasoned. With advice that is both specific and detailed, he gives a frank description of the challenges healthcare leaders face—personal and practical—and how to deal with them. In an era when calls for leadership in healthcare are both commonplace and vague, Lawrence's clear description of the job of leadership, and his guidance to how to do it well, is a breath of fresh air."
Richard Bohmer, Former Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts
| Product Details |
Title: Best Care, Best Future: A Guide for Healthcare Leaders
Authors: David M. Lawrence, MD
Format: Paperback - This book is also available in Hardcover
Publisher: Second River Healthcare
Pub. Date: February 2014
Pages: 304
Edition Number: 1st
Language: English
ISBN: 9781936406210
Product Dimensions: 8.5" x 5.5" x .75"
