The controversy - U.S. healthcare reform

Why are so many citizens resistant to the changes to the American healthcare system proposed by the Obama administration? Last fall, this became a question that I decided to address, in part, by figuring out if I could identify a solution that would be a "win" for each type of stakeholder (including patients and the various organizations that are affected by or are part of the system) in the entire U.S. healthcare system. Part of the reason for making this decision was my serious reservations about the proposed plan and how the whole process was being handled in our country. I realized that the proposed changes would have a significant negative impact on the quality and costs in the U.S. healthcare system overall.

Last fall, I began the process to answer the question about resistance and attempt to develop the win-win-win solution for all stakeholders. I believe that I identified the solution that will improve quality AND reduce costs. One of the motivating factors for me and methods for analysis came from Eliyahu M. Goldratt's book, "The Choice." Dr. Eli Goldratt (1947 - 2011) was the founder of a management philosophy known as the Theory of Constraints (TOC), best-selling author and educator. In "The Choice," he presented the win-win solution for all stakeholders of the physical products supply chain (manufacturing through sale of goods to retailers). TOC was developed in order to achieve his life goal of teaching the world to think. It provides a powerful process for achieving FOCUS - on doing what should be done (reliability) and NOT doing what should NOT be done (effectiveness).

I decided to write my answer to the question and present the solution in a paper that would become freely available to the public in the future. I have been working on writing this paper for months. I have focused my time on improving it until I decided to share it with some key people to enable me to further revise the paper to ensure the best possible outcome of sharing it with the masses. As soon as I think this paper is ready, I will release it and make sure people know it is available.

I have chosen NOT to give in to pressure to release it before key government decisions are made because I don't want to decrease the chances of this work having the most significant positive impact. The impact that I desire is to influence key decision-makers in government and organizations and other individuals to take the actions that will achieve a win for all. This paper is specifically written for those people. I hope that others will be influenced to take action as well. For example, people can write to government, vote or take other actions that would motivate those with the ability to make the appropriate changes take the desired actions.

This paper will be posted on our web site in the guest portal, along with a bibliography sharing TOC successes in healthcare. In the members only section of our web site, there will be reviews written by me of various materials (videos, books and papers) on TOC in healthcare.

Introduction to my blog

Today marks the beginning of this blog. I want to start by pointing out that the purpose of it is to share information about what is happening within The Illuminutopia Group. It is not about my ego. As the founder of IlluminutopiaSM,I believe my purpose is to provide vision and leadership to it. However, it is my view that this organization is not about me. I have assembled an amazing group of people to provide, as a team, the leadership needed to achieve our purpose: "Illuminating the way to utopia for individuals, organizations and the rest of society." Neither this organization nor its leadership has a goal of making money. However, money is a necessary condition for achieving our goal. We are focused on making a positive difference in the world - on bringing the light back into the eyes of beings. This is what brought us together - this shared vision. We are like a family. We each bring specialized skills and knowledge to Illuminutopia.

At times, I will share in this blog some key events from past history of Illuminutopia or me that I believe should be communicated. My intention is to regularly share insights or information that you might find useful.

I started to formulate the vision and plan for Illuminutopia over 18 months ago. Since then, I have initiated a number of actions to support achieving the desired results. It has been a long, bumpy road. I am excited that this is now starting to come together in an amazing way. I hope you will join us on our journey.