Every now and then I run into a thought provoking commentary on healthcare that makes you ponder....
COULD THIS REALLY HAPPEN?...WHAT IMPACTS WOULD OCCUR?... DOES THIS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO ROCK OUR WORLD?
Medscape Internal Medicine posted this type commentary by George D. Lundberg, MD on February 14, 2018.
"Except for a 3-year period in the 1990s brought about by strict health maintenance organization (HMO) practices, healthcare cost inflation in America has increased at two to three times the rate of overall inflation for as long as I have followed it (the 1970s), driving the overall percentage of the GNP [attributed to healthcare] ever upward, now around 17%.[1]
The key reason is that healthcare around the world is primarily about health, while healthcare in the United States is primarily about money-money-driven medicine.
Do we, the general public, "get what we pay for"? No way. Our healthcare value, outcomes, and satisfaction lag far behind those of most other much less expensive systems.
Why is that? It's complicated, but it's mostly because such a large percentage of the people and companies working in healthcare like the money and have developed ways to manipulate a money-grabbing system, always upwards. The profit motive is at every level. Thirty percent of all diagnostic and therapeutic services are unnecessary, etc, etc".... (
read the complete commentary)
Enjoy! And may your thoughts be provoked!
Note: You may need to register with Medscape to access the commentary.
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Lezlee Koch
ASCLS Patient Safety
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