In American health care, more is usually…more. But that may be changing. Providers and researchers are starting to wonder if they can achieve the same outcomes with less treatment, saving patients from the physical and non-physical side effects of intervention. What they’re finding is promising. I wrote about this for STAT recently:
A few Massachusetts hospitals have had success reducing their C-section rates through policy changes. South Shore Hospital implemented the TeamBirth Project, which focuses on patient education and having a documented birth plan. The hospital saw a 4% reduction in C-sections in the first year. In a pilot study, Boston Medical Center also implemented documented birth plans along with hourly evaluations during active labor. This cut the length of labor in half and reduced the likelihood of C-section from 20% to 8%.
Read the whole piece here.
Research for this article was supported by Arnold Ventures.
