Finance Category
Patient Ratings by Providers – the next act.
Several lines of the page in all sorts of media have been devoted to the evaluative concepts of healthcare organization ratings and physician provider ratings. Many websites dot the web with such databases for patients of all types to delve into and either look for a new provider or submit a subjective evaluation based on their most recent healthcare experience.
The high cost of care, this is where it begins.
Some potentially great news for patients with hypertension some time down the road as long as the clinical trials go off without a hitch. Investors seem to be pleased with the preliminary results and so does the stock market. However this is what healthcare has become, this is the beginning of one of the many ailments with our current healthcare delivery system - Investor interests.
States bribed by CMS to turn away Emergency Department Patients.
Bribing healthcare organizations to screen patients presenting to an emergency department is not the way to control healthcare costs. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is doing just that though. As part of a multi-million dollar incentive to the states it wants to divert patients with “non-emergency” medical problems away from local emergency departments and point them to other resources within the community. The goal is to decrease the cost associated with seeking care in that emergency department. This care is typically more expensive than care provided by clinics or a primary care provider.
Healthcare: Now more than ever it is becoming a privilege.
How do we as a country solve the problem of escalating costs associated with healthcare? I have written several pieces regarding the business aspects of healthcare and how in some cases the business portion of providing care is killing us. Reports have been in the news of late listing the death rates per state of people that die prematurely because they don’t have adequate health insurance. We have all read ad nauseam article after article about the reimbursement problems providers and hospitals are having, the mounting bad debt that healthcare organizations are carrying, and many such stories. At this point even for a healthcare provider the news makes me weary, and to read yet another story or blog entry is becoming difficult. Many times I just want to ignore it all and go and put on Sponge Bob on Nickelodeon.
Size does matter.
I feel somewhat compelled to pen a verse or two regarding the linked article in the New York Times today regarding the continued pandemic this country has with obesity. Most of what we see in the media these days regarding obesity are warnings about the hazards of over indulgence. Heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, loads of orthopedic problems color the pages of several health sections of any local paper.
Patient Care or Market Share, Two seemly opposing forces.
Scott MacStravic over at World Healthcare Blog authored a great piece the other day regarding the physician shortage and the use of mid-level providers as a means of improving access to care. I wanted to take an opportunity to echo Scott’s comments with this subject.
The Cost of Life: Shall we start the bidding at $……., Do I hear $…..
Perusing the abyssal of medial bogs this morning I came across yet another winning accolade for healthcare that involves a young man [17 year old Nick Colombo] who lives in the Los Angeles area that is fighting a battle with metastatic cancer. His insurance provider Pacific Care had initially denied his claim for advanced radiation treatment it appears due to the cost of the therapy – some $100,000.00. Family and friends were predictably outraged and disappointed.
Medical Tourism: Who really pays? Who really saves?
Periodically the news enlightens us with not so glamorous stories of individuals seeking medical care outside the borders of the United States (U.S.). These reports are usually about everyday people seeking cosmetic surgery, dental care, or some other medical treatment that they are unable to access in the U.S., usually due to the associated costs or their insurance status.
Stats show RN salaries may have reached a plateau
Nursing salaries may be leveling out as reported by Advance for Nurses. An on-line study collected salary data of 7500 nurses across the United States which indicated that salaries may have reached a plateau. The report shows a $3000 drop in nursing salaries this year compared to 2007. There are other indicators that suggest the nursing shortage is also tapering off. Experts say that one reason is the large number of nurses that are at the top of their facility pay scale who are now only getting an annual cost of living adjustment.
