In their drive to cut costs and produce better patient outcomes, American health care policy makers and administrators are embracing a variety of work re-organization schemes borrowed from other industries. Some boast of their “Toyota lean” approach to health care delivery. Others have looked to Disney World for new ideas. The newest business model being touted is the chain restaurant The Cheesecake Factory.
Earlier this month, Boston’s own Atul Gawande, a well-known surgeon and writer about health care, surprised many readers of The New Yorker by praising The Cheesecake Factory for demonstrating how the US health care system could provide more standardized, high-quality patient care.
Comments
I too felt uncomfortable with Dr. Gawande's endorsement of The Cheesecake Factory's product--not my cup of tea. But that endorsement was secondary to urging his readers to consider the importance of improved standardization in health care. The article did a great job in helping lay people understand how the issues of ego and intraorganizational politics often get in the way of improvements that make sense. Ms. Gordon's response to the Gawande article reads like an abused unionist's irrational screed.
I too felt uncomfortable with Dr. Gawande's endorsement of The Cheesecake Factory's product--not my cup of tea. But that endorsement was secondary to urging his readers to consider the importance of improved standardization in health care. The article did a great job in helping lay people understand how the issues of ego and intraorganizational politics often get in the way of improvements that make sense. Ms. Gordon's response to the Gawande article reads like an abused unionist's irrational screed.
I too felt uncomfortable with Dr. Gawande's endorsement of The Cheesecake Factory's product--not my cup of tea. But that endorsement was secondary to urging his readers to consider the importance of improved standardization in health care. The article did a great job in helping lay people understand how the issues of ego and intraorganizational politics often get in the way of improvements that make sense. Ms. Gordon's response to the Gawande article reads like an abused unionist's irrational screed.
My read of thge Gawande rticle was that its focus was the mgt method at Chesscake Factory - -standard work = reliability, high quality. I don't think Gawande suggested a wholesale adoption of the CF culture and ethos.
I've eaten in several Cheesecake factory locations around the U.S., and every time I have eaten at one, I have had horrible stomach aches afterwards. It didn't matter whether I had eaten a vegetarian sandwich, a salad, appetizers, or nothing but a lemon square (I hate cheesecake). If you want to make the argument that the existance of the Cheesecake Factory can increase business for surrounding hospitals, I think it's a good one. ...and I definitely believe they must be somehow "manipulating" their food.