The U.S. health-care industry could cut $3.6 trillion in waste in 10 years with a few common-sense steps to eliminate fraud and errors and to encourage efficiency and healthier behavior, according to an analysis by Thomson Reuters.

Recommended changes include giving patients a medical “home” to better coordinate care, eliminating a culture of fraud, encouraging patients to ask about health-care costs and rewarding quality-improvement initiatives, Reuters reported. Thomson Reuters is the news agency’s parent company.

Such changes could reduce waste by 5 percent a year, adding up to $3.6 trillion over 10 years, according to the report.

Thomson Reuters asked clients what they were doing that worked. Its analysts also read published studies on ways to cut waste.

The report outlines some of the best measures.

They include:

* Encouraging everyone to manage their own health through personal behavior to prevent diseases, early detection and appropriate care for chronic diseases.

* Using a simple checklist approach to prevent medical errors, which cost $50 billion to $100 billion a year.

* Reducing opportunities for fraud. A George Washington University report estimated that in 2007, fraud accounted for 5 percent to 10 percent of the nation’s $2.3 trillion in health-care spending.

* Reducing fragmentation in the delivery of care, coordinating care among specialists and cutting administrative costs.

* Creating a “culture of performance improvement” that promotes the quick dissemination and adoption of best practices.

Electronic records are key, with the report using a Minnesota program as an example of estimated savings, estimated at $60 million a year when the program is fully implemented.

Click here to read the full report.