If you ran a fancy restaurant, would you want the chef also to clean dishes and mop the floor? Of course not. You’d hire others to do these things and let the chef focus on producing delicious food. This simple idea — that one should match the skill level of the individual to the skill requirements of a task — has influenced how many businesses operate. That’s why lawyers are helped by paralegals, professors by teaching assistants, and chefs by sous chefs.
Task Shifting Could Help Lower Costs in U.S. Health Care
Three examples from India show how.
July 19, 2018
Summary.
The idea that one should match the skill level of the individual to the skill requirements of a task has influenced how many businesses operate. That’s why lawyers are helped by paralegals, professors by teaching assistants, and chefs by sous chefs. This logic also applies to health care. For years, nurse practitioners and physician assistants have taken on tasks that doctors once performed. This has saved money, of course, but it has also improved quality, because doctors and paramedics perform tasks that best fit their expertise. Research shows that there is a lot more room for task shifting in U.S. health care.