Stealing some thunder from another blog

This from John Lynch's blog(Not the former NH Governor)

http://ourhealthcaresucks.com/health-care/healthcare-cuts-or-sequestration/

 The entire sequestration process – a byproduct of the last debt ceiling debacle in Congress that would make broad cuts in government spending effective on March 1, 2013 (delayed from a January 1, 2013 start as part of the “fiscal cliff” deal) – could be avoided if we’d only tackle our medical misspending that she estimates at 44% of our current healthcare costs. The twin pillars of overhead and overuse are cited as the core causes of this overspending.

While I don't agree with everything said in the blog it provides some excellent reading and discussion on what is going and what can be done.  One topic touched on was defensive medicine.  It's something that I don't think was addressed with the ACA.  Doctors order far more tests and procedures not because its needed but because if they don't do it they could be sued for malpractice if something goes wrong.  We really need to focus on quality not quantity and get lawyers out of the equation. Some of the accepted performance measures being used do touch on these. For example AAB Avoidance of Antibiotic Treatment in Adults with Acute Bronchitis or URI Treatment of Children with Upper Respiratory Infection. Between unneeded tests and prescriptions plus frivolous lawsuits we are hiking up our costs and wasting money.  Even though I'm a compliance professional having these rules in place keep me gainfully employed we do need to realize that the system is broken and needs to be fixed






John does know what he is talking about

John Lynch has several decades of diverse healthcare experience informing a unique perspective that can help you and your family navigate our turbulent – and dangerous – healthcare system.

These range from consumer advocacy and hospital management to regional planning and developing innovative service delivery models, including:

• Founded and served as Chairman, President and CEO of a company that developed a network of mobile MRI clinics (Medical Diagnostics, Inc., or MDI) that he took public as the only profitable mobile MRI company in the country; MDI was twice ranked among Business Week’s top ten “Best Small Businesses” in America;

• Former independent consultant for hospital planning and program development projects; developed an early methodology for projecting patient need for an emerging diagnostic technology (MRI) recognized by the American Hospital Association;

• Served on the Boards of a hospital and consumer advocacy group for the medically uninsured, as well as the Hospital Trustee Committee of his state hospital association;

• Served on Boards of health centers, Harvard-affiliated mental health center, & statewide drug rehabilitation program;

• Managed the emergency room, outpatient, and community-based programs of a large teaching hospital; &

• Served as Planning Director for a regional health planning agency & reviewed dozens of hospital expansion plans.