Comments on: The “Age” of Healthcare has an uncertain future. http://redscrubs.com/2008/03/the-age-of-healthcare-has-an-uncertain-future/ The Resource for Medical Professionals Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:55:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.11 by: Mike Pringle http://redscrubs.com/2008/03/the-age-of-healthcare-has-an-uncertain-future/#comment-323 Fri, 21 Mar 2008 04:48:22 +0000 http://redscrubs.com/2008/03/the-age-of-healthcare-has-an-uncertain-future/#comment-323 The messenger of doom may be a bit over the top but your point is well taken. There is certainly not a lot of good news in healthcare today on any level. There are so many convoluted issues in healthcare, all of them politically polarized, and in some way shape or form tied to dollars. The business of healthcare has become a business in trouble. For years the problems we see today have been sitting on the back burner over a low flame and no one wanted to take of the lid, so to speak. Now we as a country are facing some very concerning issues that are and will affect all of us for some time. Most of the answers you and I seek negatively affect the bottom lines of many stakeholders, and no one has taken the plunge if you will to get things started. Everyone is talking about how things need to change but no one has come out and played the first card. It may be up to the public to unite and pressure law makers, insurance companies, and other key factions in healthcare to make changes. I would hope it would not come to that, however public out cry may be what the doctor ordered. Thanks for your comment. Mike The messenger of doom may be a bit over the top but your point is well taken. There is certainly not a lot of good news in healthcare today on any level. There are so many convoluted issues in healthcare, all of them politically polarized, and in some way shape or form tied to dollars.

The business of healthcare has become a business in trouble. For years the problems we see today have been sitting on the back burner over a low flame and no one wanted to take of the lid, so to speak. Now we as a country are facing some very concerning issues that are and will affect all of us for some time.

Most of the answers you and I seek negatively affect the bottom lines of many stakeholders, and no one has taken the plunge if you will to get things started. Everyone is talking about how things need to change but no one has come out and played the first card. It may be up to the public to unite and pressure law makers, insurance companies, and other key factions in healthcare to make changes. I would hope it would not come to that, however public out cry may be what the doctor ordered.

Thanks for your comment.

Mike

]]> by: charlesclarknovels http://redscrubs.com/2008/03/the-age-of-healthcare-has-an-uncertain-future/#comment-322 Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:59:38 +0000 http://redscrubs.com/2008/03/the-age-of-healthcare-has-an-uncertain-future/#comment-322 The post ceratainly describes many of the problems in health care delivery today--sort of like something coming from a messanger of doom. What can be done about it? It seems that most of what I read is a report on what's wrong, like a weather report, but seldom is any corrective action suggested. But nothing will change unless the system is changed. Costs will continue to escalate, quality will continue to deteriorate unless the causes are identified and some attempt is made to correct them. A beginning would be to deny reimbursement for medicallly unnecessary surgical procedures, for medically unnecessary diagnostics and medically unnecessary utilization of ancillary services (DME, Home Health, PT). There should be no reimbursement for self-referrals of patients by physicians to facilities in which they have a financial interest. Health care providers should be rewarded for exemplary performance, the P4P concept. The primary care physicians should not be penalized because of proceduralists's practice patterns of "more is better." Remove the incentives to provide more service, without regard for whether or not it is necessary. This represents a staggering cost of health care that could be reduced. Dollars could then be allocated where they are needed the most. Is any candidate or lawmaker courageous enough to take these steps in the face of professional health care lobbyists? I seriously doubt it unless the citizens paying for the costs rise in protest. charlesclarknovels www.charlesclarknovels.com The post ceratainly describes many of the problems in health care delivery today–sort of like something coming from a messanger of doom. What can be done about it? It seems that most of what I read is a report on what’s wrong, like a weather report, but seldom is any corrective action suggested. But nothing will change unless the system is changed. Costs will continue to escalate, quality will continue to deteriorate unless the causes are identified and some attempt is made to correct them.

A beginning would be to deny reimbursement for medicallly unnecessary surgical procedures, for medically unnecessary diagnostics and medically unnecessary utilization of ancillary services (DME, Home Health, PT). There should be no reimbursement for self-referrals of patients by physicians to facilities in which they have a financial interest.

Health care providers should be rewarded for exemplary performance, the P4P concept. The primary care physicians should not be penalized because of proceduralists’s practice patterns of “more is better.” Remove the incentives to provide more service, without regard for whether or not it is necessary. This represents a staggering cost of health care that could be reduced. Dollars could then be allocated where they are needed the most.

Is any candidate or lawmaker courageous enough to take these steps in the face of professional health care lobbyists? I seriously doubt it unless the citizens paying for the costs rise in protest.

charlesclarknovels

www.charlesclarknovels.com

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