Where Does it Hurt? Book Summary - Where Does it Hurt? Book explained in key points

Where Does it Hurt? summary

Jonathan Bush and Stephen Baker

An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Fixing Health Care

3.7 (16 ratings)
10 mins

Brief summary

Where Does it Hurt? by Jonathan Bush and Stephen Baker is a business book that offers a fresh perspective on healthcare. It explores how innovation and entrepreneurship can revolutionize the industry and improve patient outcomes.

Table of Contents

    Where Does it Hurt?
    Summary of 5 key ideas

    Audio & text in the Blinkist app
    Key idea 1 of 5

    The health care industry is broken because there’s no competition.

    Big research hospitals function almost like department stores: you go there for all your medical needs. So why aren’t there any “boutique” hospitals to compete with this model?

    Everyone knows that hospital visits are frustrating. Parking is difficult, service is usually bad, medical records go missing, waiting takes hours and bills are unbelievably high. Each of those problems means a market opportunity for a competitor to offer something better, at a lower cost.

    This happened when LASIK eye correction surgery was introduced in 1991. It was expensive and considered very risky, so it wasn’t covered by most insurance plans. People had to pay if they wanted it.

    So LASIK operators had to provide the best possible service at affordable prices in order to woo customers. This enabled the industry to advance – LASIK’s process now has a 95 percent satisfaction rate. This should be a model for the whole health care system: when there’s competition, customers win.

    The health care industry would be improved by more openness. We need more choices. People should be able to decide for themselves how much their insurance covers, instead of being forced to accept an all-inclusive plan that includes services they won’t use.

    What if you had the option of being covered only for big accidents, or curable serious illnesses? And for other services like dentists, you could choose the best providers?

    Entrepreneurs also need the freedom to develop ways of providing higher quality health care. They need more access to medical information, for instance, which is often guarded by hospitals.

    If people had more chances to choose smaller, entrepreneurial medical care like LASIK, they could avoid the problems associated with bigger hospitals.

    This, in turn, would push hospitals to improve their services and hold onto their patients (or “customers”).

    Want to see all full key ideas from Where Does it Hurt??

    Key ideas in Where Does it Hurt?

    More knowledge in less time
    Read or listen
    Read or listen
    Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
    Find your next read
    Find your next read
    Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
    Shortcasts
    Shortcasts New
    We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

    What is Where Does it Hurt? about?

    America’s health care system is failing, and a revolution is needed. Hospital visits are a messy experience, and people don’t have fast and easy access to the medical services they need. In Where Does It Hurt?, Jonathan Bush argues that we can fix our broken health care industry by making it more open. Entrepreneurs need the space to provide alternative services, so hospitals will be forced to better themselves to catch up.

    Best quote from Where Does it Hurt?

    Its by returning to a real marketplace that we can create the health industry we want.

    —Jonathan Bush and Stephen Baker
    example alt text

    Who should read Where Does it Hurt??

    • Anyone interested in health care or medicine
    • Anyone interested in business
    • Anyone interested in medical start-ups

    About the Author

    Jonathan Bush is the CEO and cofounder of Athenahealth, one of the most successful medical communications software programs in the United States. Stephen Baker is an author, and a former senior writer for Businessweek.

    Categories with Where Does it Hurt?

    Book summaries like Where Does it Hurt?

    People ❤️ Blinkist 
    Sven O.

    It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

    Thi Viet Quynh N.

    Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

    Jonathan A.

    Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

    Renee D.

    Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.

    People also liked these summaries

    4.7 Stars
    Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
    28 Million
    Downloads on all platforms
    10+ years
    Experience igniting personal growth
    Powerful ideas from top nonfiction

    Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,000+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.

    Start your free trial