A Conundrum...
Some of my most peaceful times come when I'm driving the L.A. Freeways (??), observing traffic, observing people in traffic, and thinking about what makes processes flow the way they do.
Take, for example, the HOV lanes (High Occupancy Vehicles), which look to me to be a wonderful breeze until I hit the five-lanes-down-to-four and there we are, my passenger and I, stuck like I was the other day when I drove the 405 alone. Ah, well...
So, then I'm stuck on the 91 heading west (idiot!), arguably the worst freeway in the Free World, though I've vowed never, ever (ever) to get stuck like this again -- when all of a sudden, that peaceful sensation hits when I see the FreedomPass lane (don't remember whether that's really what it's called) -- you know, the FastTrack that, for a song, gets you wherever the heck you think you need to be in this, um..., lifetime.
Traffic, I conclude, is life. Not "mimics" life, it is life itself. So, all these patterns and scenarios start unfolding in my head as I try to map ebb-and-flow to other processes I'm interested in. Like healthcare.
For example, consider this: here's a Forbes commentary, What the Traffic Will Bear ("Want the fast lane? Pay for it"). The topic at hand is "market-priced express lanes." That day in L.A., I had just read about flexible pricing plans for perishable freeway space for commuters in other parts of the country. I think it was Milwaukee: Study Calls for Variable-Priced Lanes to be Part of Freeway Plans. Wherever it was, the message was clear. HOV lanes are all or nothing (1 occupant vs. 2 or more occupants). Variable fast lanes can be priced by the minute, if you like -- i.e. variable pricing responding to market pressure in really-real time. When FastTrack space is abundant, and traffic in regular lanes stinks, the price can rise according to capacity and you can reach your destination sooner. Or so it seems.
Wait -- how does it really work? If there's high capacity in the fast lanes, do you want to charge more or less for the privilege of convenience? The less you charge, the more folks will shift over until -- wow! You use up capacity quicker. I think...
Here's the conundrum: do you charge a little or a lot to move people from congested freeways to the FastTrack? Or, more precisely, how do you adjust fast-track pricing in real time to accommodate people's choices for marginal fees resulting in maximum comfort (or comfort as they perceive it)? Do you charge more or less for specialized service?
Ok, now shift gears to healthcare. Do you charge more or less (in real time) for specialized healthcare service delivery? Do you reimburse promptly or slowly for specialized care distributed among a large group of patients, irrespective of the individual motorist's -- um, I mean, "patient's" -- ability to shift to the FastTrack and back? On the freeway, it depends on time of day, and location, and the general mood of all those motorists out there. What's the correlate in healthcare? If the ER's are clogged, do you try to move more or fewer people to admitting, or to some other outpatient services, depending on capacity and location?
And why should those fleets of long-haul high-idle gas-guzzlers get preferential treatment just because they pay premium highway taxes, anyway? Or do they?
It's a conundrum...
Take, for example, the HOV lanes (High Occupancy Vehicles), which look to me to be a wonderful breeze until I hit the five-lanes-down-to-four and there we are, my passenger and I, stuck like I was the other day when I drove the 405 alone. Ah, well...
So, then I'm stuck on the 91 heading west (idiot!), arguably the worst freeway in the Free World, though I've vowed never, ever (ever) to get stuck like this again -- when all of a sudden, that peaceful sensation hits when I see the FreedomPass lane (don't remember whether that's really what it's called) -- you know, the FastTrack that, for a song, gets you wherever the heck you think you need to be in this, um..., lifetime.
Traffic, I conclude, is life. Not "mimics" life, it is life itself. So, all these patterns and scenarios start unfolding in my head as I try to map ebb-and-flow to other processes I'm interested in. Like healthcare.
For example, consider this: here's a Forbes commentary, What the Traffic Will Bear ("Want the fast lane? Pay for it"). The topic at hand is "market-priced express lanes." That day in L.A., I had just read about flexible pricing plans for perishable freeway space for commuters in other parts of the country. I think it was Milwaukee: Study Calls for Variable-Priced Lanes to be Part of Freeway Plans. Wherever it was, the message was clear. HOV lanes are all or nothing (1 occupant vs. 2 or more occupants). Variable fast lanes can be priced by the minute, if you like -- i.e. variable pricing responding to market pressure in really-real time. When FastTrack space is abundant, and traffic in regular lanes stinks, the price can rise according to capacity and you can reach your destination sooner. Or so it seems.
Wait -- how does it really work? If there's high capacity in the fast lanes, do you want to charge more or less for the privilege of convenience? The less you charge, the more folks will shift over until -- wow! You use up capacity quicker. I think...
Here's the conundrum: do you charge a little or a lot to move people from congested freeways to the FastTrack? Or, more precisely, how do you adjust fast-track pricing in real time to accommodate people's choices for marginal fees resulting in maximum comfort (or comfort as they perceive it)? Do you charge more or less for specialized service?
Ok, now shift gears to healthcare. Do you charge more or less (in real time) for specialized healthcare service delivery? Do you reimburse promptly or slowly for specialized care distributed among a large group of patients, irrespective of the individual motorist's -- um, I mean, "patient's" -- ability to shift to the FastTrack and back? On the freeway, it depends on time of day, and location, and the general mood of all those motorists out there. What's the correlate in healthcare? If the ER's are clogged, do you try to move more or fewer people to admitting, or to some other outpatient services, depending on capacity and location?
And why should those fleets of long-haul high-idle gas-guzzlers get preferential treatment just because they pay premium highway taxes, anyway? Or do they?
It's a conundrum...
posted by Dr. George at 5:39 PM
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