Even with health care reform, Americans will increasingly be burdened with higher deductibles, more financial responsibility, and less satisfaction with their health insurance for the foreseeable future. Why? Since the health system is able to transform their services in a way that other industries have done to improve the quality and service, and reduce costs. the two biggest culprits are the mentality of health services and fee for service reimbursement system.
Doctors and patients did not change the way they communicate over the past hundred years. Except for the invention of telephone, office visits was unchanged. physician and patient to talk as a doctor signs a note in the paper chart. Despite the innovation of mobile phones, laptop computer, and another time saving device, patients still receive care through face to face contact, although the banking, travel and business co-operation can be done via the internet, web camera and share documents. As Dr. Pauline Chen has stated in a recent article, doctors are not willing to use technology for collaboration and to provide medical care better, faster and more efficiently. Basically, it's because of the culture resistant to change. Partly this is due to the lack of compensation. Both are likely to be addressed or fixed any time soon.
However, patients come to physicians for our medical expertise and insight in order to stay well or better. They do not care if this is done via the web or in person. If doctors think their problems are handled securely through the technology then to do so. If doctors feel certain condition must be handled in the office, then you are ready to do it. After all, we are not the ones who can make that assessment? They trust us to make the right decisions. We must be willing to challenge tradition and training in the face of rapidly evolving world.
If this country is going to make health care more affordable and more available, then doctors should work better. Only doctors can stop the March increase in medical costs.
If we as a profession do not want to use technology to get information and expertise to the point of care to people better before, then our country has only two options left to make health care affordable. The first is that the government force prices down as it has done in other countries. Based on the agenda for Medicare, the government has been squeezing costs dictate prices that may not be realistic. the second is to force patients to try to figure out what tests, procedures, doctors are the best to help them. Studies have shown that they do not want that responsibility, and when they do not have the burden of care that are skipped. However, employers are increasingly moving their employees to less comprehensive consumer driven health plans (CDHP) and high-deductible health plan (HDHP) to save money.
It's the doctors who are not willing to make virtual visits. The public is ready and waiting. If we as a profession will not be taken into account using the same technology we use to communicate with family and friends, and use these very same tools to provide "second opinion" to our loved ones who value our medical expertise of our patients, then how We can say that we are committed to making health care accessible and affordable to all Americans?
While there is a small group of enthusiasts entrepreneurial doctors and leading health organizations are trying to move American medicine in the 21st century, the health system really needs Steve Jobs and Apple to transform health care. As it currently exists, most doctors are either unwilling or unable to make a change.
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