"Why is Hawaiian care so efficient? No one really knows. "

Intriguing article by Gardiner Harris, "In Hawaii’s Health System, Lessons for Lawmakers", New York Times, (October 16, 2009) (available online here) What do you think? Remember this: Hawaii's top three medical providers are adopting electronic medical records — years ahead of most mainland counterparts.

But perhaps the most intriguing lesson from Hawaii has to do with costs. This is a state where regular milk sells for $8 a gallon, gasoline costs $3.60 a gallon and the median price of a home in 2008 was $624,000 — the second-highest in the nation. Despite this, Hawaii’s health insurance premiums are nearly tied with North Dakota for the lowest in the country, and Medicare costs per beneficiary are the nation’s lowest.

Hawaii residents live longer than people in the rest of the country, recent surveys have shown, and the state’s health care system may be one reason. In one example, Hawaii has the nation’s highest incidence of breast cancer but the lowest death rate from the disease. Why is Hawaiian care so efficient? No one really knows.