From Reuters: Walmart offers to Help Cure US Health Care. Ok, let me start with a few generally recognized facts about Walmart:
Approx 5 of the top 10 richest people in the world all have Walton after their name.
Walmart has cheap prices, negotiates based on their size (side question: isn’t that what a few of the largest health insurer’s due in our markets for our rates?)
Many families can afford things that they wouldn’t normally get because of their cheap prices
They are the largest grocery chain in the US
They have almost 10% of the entire retail market
They have revenues that exceed many countries
Ok. Ok, fair enough.
However, do I want their input on fixing health care? Only in a few selected areas. Let me explain. One of my contrarian truths of physical therapy:
Do all things great and you will be out of business.
Walmart is the classic example (another side note: Despite what many people think, Walmart can be beat-see the cost per square foot sales at Whole Foods and Wegman’s as one example). They only do 2 things really well. Their stores are not especially aesthetically pleasing, their customer service is lacking, their advertising I am not sure I can remember any, HR is terrible (the lawsuits speak for themselves and by the way, don’t you only get major medical if you are an employee?), and I am sure their accounting and financing is pretty good as judged by their lack of trouble with the SEC.
What they are great at is IT and logistics plain and simple (don’t try and tell me they are good at low prices because that is a by product of IT, logistics, and pure size). The fact of the matter is that if they were great at all of these other functions, they wouldn’t be able to offer low prices and they wouldn’t have the profit margins that they currently do.
There are a few lessons in this. First, as PT’s, let’s not try to be great at everything (good and adequate is not the enemy of great), specialization makes sense, and let’s stay within our niche (animal PT’s are you listening?).
As to Walmart, yes please help fix our health care but only advise in IT and logistics. Cheap doesn’t equate to quality, health care service is different than retail, and suppliers (health care professionals) are not fungible commodities where low prices can be extracted (it has been tried and doesn’t work). We can really use the help but please don’t have us model health care around your health care benefits to your employees or your general business model.
Thoughts?
Larry
