Harvard economist Michael Porter has written that Value=outcomes/costs. Value=efficiency. Using this formula, value is now measured by the medical outcomes achieved, rather than, as had been done in prior years, by the volume of services delivered. This emphasis on ‘value’ promotes a shift in thinking from volume to outcomes and focuses on the cost of a patient’s entire care cycle. There is currently not a single book in pediatric orthopaedics that discusses the many ways physicians and practitioners can use the principles of the value equation to provide better care to their patients and to society. This text fills this gap with practical, actual case-based examples to help demonstrate this value. The objective of this book is to describe pediatric orthopaedic musculoskeletal themes that clinicians and patients should question and stop doing or modify to improve the care for children. It identifies tests, procedures, and practices commonly used in pediatric orthopaedics whose necessity should be questioned and discussed with patients and potentially abandoned. It also promotes conversations between pediatric orthopaedic clinicians and patients to help patients choose care that is evidence based, truly necessary, not duplicative, and free from harm. Comprised of clinical cases, each chapter follows a distinct and uniform format. Every chapter includes keywords, an abstract, a case example, author pearls, comments by both editors, and references. Written by experts in the field, Value in Pediatric Orthopaedics is the definitive guide to quality care in Pediatric Orthopaedics.
