October 12th, 2009 by GruntDoc in Better Health Network, News
1 Comment »
EMS/ED frequent fliers are both a bane and (supposedly) another cost of doing business for EMS systems. Maybe not.
My city of Fort Worth is trying to do something about it, proactively and correctly (emphasis mine):
MedStar program sends paramedic to homes of some repeat callers before they dial 911 | Fort Wor…
FORT WORTH — Last year, MedStar was called more than 800 times by 21 people.
Those “frequent fliers” weren’t necessarily facing life-threatening emergencies. Some may have needed primary care but didn’t have a regular doctor or transportation. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at GruntDoc*
October 8th, 2009 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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I have been in senior executive management in both managed care and a major hospital system. I find the hysteria over “reform” bitterly amusing because it is so misdirected.
The real problem with health care in America? Greed, indifference and incompetence, pure and simple. But not in the places everyone is pointing.
Insurer side
Insurance companies have to maximize their revenue because they answer to their boards. They are in no rush to fix claims systems that make copious errors and delay payments to providers. There are hundreds of claims processing software programs out there. Some are acceptable, some are useless. None are really good or efficient. And there is the human error factor. A careless mistake by an apathetic claims processor can create payment problems that could literally last for years. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
September 29th, 2009 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy
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Joe Biden unveiled a White House study on the rise of health insurance premiums. He pressed for consumer protections the President wants to see in any reform legislation. Among these are a pledge to pass a law that “ends exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles or co-pays.” Presumably this is meant to address worries many feel over the growth of high-deductible health plans.
The St. Petersburg Times looked into it to find out what this pledge means, in practical terms. David Axelrod at the White House pointed them to the proposed House legislation, which would create limits on out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles and co-pays of $5,000 a year for an individual, and $10,000 a year for a family.
Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
September 28th, 2009 by Happy Hospitalist in Better Health Network, Opinion
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I have blogged extensively about why standard of care is an irresponsible measure of the threshold for determining negligence in medical care. Most recently, I blogged about it
here and
here. Imagine for a moment what capitalism would be like if your investment adviser was sued every time your investment value went down. Imagine what life would be like if they risked civil liability every time a bad outcome occurred. What if no laws were broken? What if an after the fact determination of negligence was based on a bad outcome?
Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at A Happy Hospitalist*
