Mike Stephens
A couple of my colleagues called to ask why I was so negative in my view of ACOs. I pointed out I don't question the principles on which ACOs are to be established; that is the application of managed care incentives into a fee-for-service environment. What I can't accept is the hope that the impact will be soon enough or large enough to avoid the impending healthcare meltdown.
The focus of the national media and sites such as this one has been on the promise of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) to transform the American healthcare delivery system in a way that the country can "bend the cost curve" of healthcare. I don't want to be the one to rain on anyone's parade, but the test of that premise is yet to come and the devil, as they say, is in the details.
The drug shortage situation in the U.S. is something every person in America should be aware of, because depending on your health and the drug you may need, you may be out of luck. Can this really be happening in America? Yes!
Mercifully this year's political season came to a close with the November elections. For those who campaigned on an agenda of "taking back our government" - that would be the tea party movement - let's consider a dose of reality as it relates to government health insurance programs, Medicare and Medicaid.
According to a recent article in Health Affairs the share of U.S. hospitals with basic or comprehensive electronic health records (EHR) rose by 3.2 percentage points to 11.9 percent in 2009. However, only 2 percent of those EHRs will meet the federal government's "meaningful use" criteria for 2011 and 2012. Anyone want to bet on the likelihood of an integrated electronic health record system by 2012?
A recent article in Forbes titled "America's Most Profitable Hospitals" listed the 25 most profitable hospitals in the country. Among the questions asked were whether the profitability was a result of "running a tight ship and providing good quality or using market leverage to achieve monopoly power?"
Well-known doctor and author Atul Gawande has written an important article in this month's The New Yorker entitled "Letting Go." It raises important issues regarding end-of-life care and decisions patients and their caregivers should think but that too often get overlooked.
There are certain initiatives central to the success of healthcare reform that are likely to fail to meet expectations because good intentions will meet the reality of this country's fragmented healthcare system.
The massive health reform legislation approved by Congress and signed by President Obama is bound to result in unintended and unanticipated consequences. These will become apparent as regulations are adopted to implement the provisions of the bill according to the schedule outlined in the legislation.
With healthcare reform legislation now passed, the nation's attention has turned to other political issues. However, healthcare costs continue to increase at an unsustainable rate and our elected representatives seem unwilling to address the core issues that are driving this country toward a real healthcare system crisis.