(submitted by Jim Smith)
This is from a friend of mine who has a lot of knowledge of the healthcare system and who I respect tremendously.
I wanted to send you all this forward from The Institute for Healthcare Improvement. I have been involved with IHI for the last decade or so and they have made significant strides in enhancing the quality of care in the US. This particular article from yesterday highlights the success of multiple communities who have reduced the escalation in Medicare Costs through regional assessment of practice patterns and the restructuring of healthcare delivery in accordance with need.
The President's agenda includes enhanced incentives to embrace the adoption of health information technology, provide coordinated care and assess health outcomes. The reasoning behind these initiatives is due to the overwhelming evidence that persons who are treated within the structure of a Medical Home Model where Mistakes are Minimized, have healthier lives and spend less money on healthcare. The folks that are opposed to our agenda don't know it but they are opposing physician visits where their doctors and other providers will actually be reimbursed to spend more time with them addressing their health needs.
These same people are also unaware that the high number of MRI's in the US is less associated with increased pathology rates than fear of malpractice lawsuits.
The communities in our own nation that have accomplished such significant improvements have all adopted a multi-prong approach to healthcare including: Reestablishing the primary care physician relationship, reforming the methods used to assess the quality and cost of healthcare at a local level and investing in technology. All of this coupled with incentives to do the right thing, provide the right care at the right place at the right time.
Please see the article below which is data driven and concise. If we can somehow communicate these successes to the opposition in addition to our accurate interpretation of the Bill, we might actually change some minds. Many who do not change their minds are -in my opinion- using the healthcare reform issue as an excuse to disagree with the current Administration due to many other conflicting issues that we cannot sort out in this debate.