(one of) Consumer directed health's fatal flaws
Managed Care Matters
Well. I have succumbed. I have put someone from the Insurance Industry on my blog. Joe Paduda from Managed Care Matters. This article on why stats and economics do not necessarily make health care better is most interesting.
The idea her in Ralph's World Canada, is to look at privatizing some of health care. There is a move on to amake it more "patient centred". Read this link, especially this excerpt and see his take on how this really plays out.
The big breakdown is our individual uniqueness - we are each a population of one. And that’s where "consumerism" blows apart.
We each get treated as individuals, not as populations. We have unique combinations of co-morbidities, allergies, pre-existing conditions, quirks, differences, nuance, needs and fears. Some of us know a lot about medical stuff, and most of us don’t know much at all. And some patients think that “quality care” is getting in to see the doc within a couple of days, while others view it as a clean waiting room with lots of interesting magazines, and still others want a doc who is warm and smiles, while another group wants to see case-mix adjusted statistics on outcomes.
This "a plus b plus c plus d..." is what makes each patient unique, a population of one.
And docs have to treat individuals, not populations. So, each patient gets treated a little differently.
Well. I have succumbed. I have put someone from the Insurance Industry on my blog. Joe Paduda from Managed Care Matters. This article on why stats and economics do not necessarily make health care better is most interesting.
The idea her in Ralph's World Canada, is to look at privatizing some of health care. There is a move on to amake it more "patient centred". Read this link, especially this excerpt and see his take on how this really plays out.
The big breakdown is our individual uniqueness - we are each a population of one. And that’s where "consumerism" blows apart.
We each get treated as individuals, not as populations. We have unique combinations of co-morbidities, allergies, pre-existing conditions, quirks, differences, nuance, needs and fears. Some of us know a lot about medical stuff, and most of us don’t know much at all. And some patients think that “quality care” is getting in to see the doc within a couple of days, while others view it as a clean waiting room with lots of interesting magazines, and still others want a doc who is warm and smiles, while another group wants to see case-mix adjusted statistics on outcomes.
This "a plus b plus c plus d..." is what makes each patient unique, a population of one.
And docs have to treat individuals, not populations. So, each patient gets treated a little differently.
posted by Impatient Patient at Saturday, April 01, 2006
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home