A family physician shares her ideas on fixing our health care system. Someone better put Elizabeth Pector in charge of something, because her ideas need to be instilled stat. Like this one, explaining why physicians deserve equal rights:
When it comes to equality, doctors get the short end of the stick in our health-care system. Payers now set non-negotiable fee schedules, meaning doctors can’t set prices compatible with practice survival. The paperwork and preauthorization hurdles erected by payers have multiplied in just the past few years. Pharmaceutical companies keep pushing costly new drugs, believing that a few months of coupons will justify excessive prices (and preauthorization hassles) later.Patients often suffer from “entitlementiasis,” having adopted a consumer view that the customer is always right. Their satisfaction is measured by whether they got what they wanted””antibiotics for colds, orders for exotic lab tests””regardless of whether their requests were medically indicated. Politicians jump on the bandwagon for EHR and other health-information technology, imposing another costly unfunded mandate on doctors.
In short, as part of restructuring the health-care system, physicians need to be put back on a level playing field with the rest of the health-care players, so they can provide input prior to implementation of supposed cost-saving measures that often only transfer costs to doctors.
Bravo Dr. Pector. The whole article is well worth reading.
Related posts:
- Ideas for reform
- Are Liberal or Conservative ideas right for health care?
- The Obama health care summit, and did the President offer any clues to the upcoming health reform effort?
- When it comes to health care reform, winners and no losers?
- Primary care doctors face burnout, and how that affects health reform
- Talking health care reform in Congressional Quarterly and WORLD Magazine
- Malcolm Gladwell on health care reform: Picasso or Cezanne?
{ 4 comments }
love it! love it! love it!!
The whole loss of personal responsibility and entitlement that is gripping the American culture (and seems to be be extremely prevalent in the patients that I see) is driving me absolutely nuts. What really gets me is the “I missed xx appointment because no one reminded me”.
We really need to re-prioritize our healthcare system. We spend 2-3 times the money of other nations, but what do we have to show for it. #37 on the WHO rankings. Bravo.
… and I don’t see signs of improvement.
In all the pres debates, I have heard very little on controlling healthcare spending, re-distibuting money from heroic end of life care and fancy tests/procedures to more needed services, or fixing the health insurance industry.
I don’t, however, want to seem like we healthcare providers are blameless. Many times we choose to prescribe more costly brand name meds beofre trying generics, continue accepting extravagant gifts/money from pharma companies, or ordering unneeded procedures. (but we’ve earned it, right (aka entitled to it))
change is going to have to happen on both ends and I fear substantial change will not happen until something big/national happens that spur people into action. As bad as it sound, that’s why a little part of me is hoping that avian flu actually happens. I have lost that much faith in the government.
With that said, I really don’t what bird flu to happen. I don’t like it when people die especially needlessly.
Excuse me? Doctors have the ultimate power: You can choose to terminate the doctor/patient relationship, including for no reason at all. What more do you want?
Patients are limited to whatever pool of physicians is available after insurance and geographic restrictions are considered. That eliminates quite a lot of options and quite a lot of choice.
I don’t doubt that you put up with a lot of BS from patients who take too little personal responsibility. Still, all you have to do is send them a letter to make them go away. Forever.
Why are you complaining?
She makes a lot of good points, although none of them are new ideas. I think all of us inside the healthcare system know what needs done, but we’re mostly just talking about it and not coming together to take action. If we don’t come together soon, we’re going to be stuck with whatever the government gives us. Who do you think knows more about the healthcare system, Barack Obama or those of us who live it each day?
“In short, as part of restructuring the health-care system, physicians need to be put back on a level playing field with the rest of the health-care players,”
Actually, the biggest problem is illustrated in the way this sentence is written. Physicians need to put THEMSELVES back in the game. They sold their soul to the govt in the 60s and they made a lot of money for the past 30 years as a result. As the baby boomers hit and govt gets extended, govt is squeezing them back. And they’re clearly feeling helpless because they have become pretty poor business people and have no idea how to take back control of their income. They better figure it out soon, though, or Pres. Obama is going to make sure healthcare is a “right” and they’re going to be nothing more than pill pushers.
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