Eric Novack tells it like it is. Bravo:
It is difficult to quantify these costs, but the costs are huge. Patients often come in’demanding’ an MRI or other test. Accompanied with the demand is almost always the statement’well, I have insurance’, and’it is covered and will not cost me anything’. These demanded test and procedures dovetail with CYA costs””fear of not getting a certain test and then discovering later a condition or problem needs treatment. That’delay in diagnosis’ is one of the leading causes of medical liability claims.The real culprit here, of course, is the 3rd party payer system that divorces patients from costs and risks””and places those risks squarely on the shoulders of healthcare providers. Even for many of the chronically ill, the knowledge that someone else is picking up the tab alters behavior.
Changing the system so that 3rd party (insurance, government) payment is minimized will provide real market forces to reduce excessive healthcare costs. Blaming doctors for the problem of’unnecessary’ healthcare, while failing to recognize the role of patients in driving costs is another area of distortion and misconception that clouds and confuses an intelligent discussion about healthcare.
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{ 3 comments }
“It is difficult to quantify these costs, but the costs are huge.”
Uh, ok.
Boy Kevin, the comments to Eric’s post really gutted the assumptions Eric made and you championed.
Perhaps if physicians spent more time talking to their patients on a regular basis and spent less time working on efficiency schemes to see the highest number of patients in the bare minimal amount of time, patient demanded healthcare growth can be curbed, as well as the practice of defensive medicine. Ultimately all patients want is what’s best for their health. If no-one in the medical field sits and explains what’s the options are and what is best, then they will continue to learn from TV ads, pop culture, drug companies, and of course their neighbors.
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