Defining and Measuring the Goldilocks Zone in Healthcare: A Review of Metrics and Models.
The "Goldilocks Zone", a term borrowed from astrophysics, describes the optimal range where conditions are just right to support life. In healthcare, this metaphor captures the imperative to balance underuse and overuse of medical services, ensuring care is neither excessive nor insufficient but ins...
| Publicado en: | Health Services Insights Vol. 18; pp. 1 - 11 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
| Formato: | review tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Sage Publications Inc.
11/3/2025
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=189287462&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 189287462 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 11786329 B10H jtl: Health Services Insights issn: 11786329 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: 11/3/2025 vid: 18 pid: 344 pub: Sage Publications Inc. place: Thousand Oaks, California artinfo: ui: 189287462 189287462 189287462 10.1177/11786329251388774 189287462 ppf: 1 ppct: 10 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Defining and Measuring the Goldilocks Zone in Healthcare: A Review of Metrics and Models. aug: au: Lee, Hannah Yu Kit Yau, Chun En Zhou, Kevin Xiang Yap, Jason Chin Huat Ng, Isaac Kah Siang Ng, Qin Xiang affil: NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore sug: subj: Health Care Delivery Patient Centered Care Quality of Health Care Health Services Accessibility Patient Satisfaction Health Resource Utilization Cost Effectiveness Analysis Implementation Science Geographic Factors Equality Health Screening Hospitalization Ambulatory Care Health Care Reform Conceptual Framework Health Policy ab: The "Goldilocks Zone", a term borrowed from astrophysics, describes the optimal range where conditions are just right to support life. In healthcare, this metaphor captures the imperative to balance underuse and overuse of medical services, ensuring care is neither excessive nor insufficient but instead maximally effective, equitable, and sustainable. As health systems confront rising costs, workforce constraints, and growing demands for person-centred care, the search for this balance has become increasingly urgent. This review explores how the concept of the Goldilocks Zone can be operationalized in modern healthcare systems. We examine two core dimensions that define this balance: person-centredness and operational efficiency. Person-centredness requires attention to accessibility, patient satisfaction, and equity. Drawing on global data, we explore how barriers such as cost, geography, and social inequality limit access to care, and we highlight the role of robust primary care systems and tailored wait-time benchmarks in ensuring responsive, equitable delivery. At the same time, we caution against the misuse of performance metrics that may obscure real disparities. Operational efficiency is evaluated across the continuum of screening, diagnosis, and care management. We review frameworks such as Wilson and Jungner's screening principles and their modern adaptations, as well as diagnostic threshold models and strategies to reduce inappropriate care utilization. Key indicators, including avoidable hospitalizations and ambulatory care-sensitive condition rates, offer insight into system inefficiencies and opportunities for reform. We propose a practical framework for identifying whether a healthcare system is within the Goldilocks Zone and recommend policy levers to help maintain or widen this zone. Ultimately, the Goldilocks Zone is not a fixed destination but a dynamic and evolving balance that requires continual adaptation. As healthcare systems grow more complex, the value of this metaphor lies in guiding both conceptual thinking and concrete policy design. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: review tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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