Health Care Systems Today
Americans Like Their Health Care, But Think The System Stinks
If America has the best health care system in the world, as some people like to say, then the setups in other countries must really be crummy.
How come? Well, check out the disheartening results of a poll just out from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. Fifty-five percent of adults surveyed gave the U.S. health care system a C or D, when asked to assign it a grade. Eleven percent gave it an F.
Can we send the health system to its room until it gets those grades up?
Familiarity trumps data when it comes to picking a hospital, the poll finds. Most people — 57 percent — would chose a hospital they or someone they know has had experience with over a hospital that does well on quality measures — 38 percent.
Indeed, when it comes to health care, people’s views are a little more charitable when the questions focus on their personal experience instead of the abstract. When asked about the quality of care they’ve actually received, nearly a third — 31 percent — of people give it an A. Thirty-four percent say it’s a B. Only 13 percent grade it D or F.
When it comes to some things, such as picking a surgeon, data seem to count for a little bit more. People were pretty much evenly divided on whether the experience of family or friends would be decisive (48 percent were in that camp) and about an equal proportion (47 percent) leaned toward quality ratings.
Viagra online Australia
Data-driven decision making for surgery, at least, seems to be gaining steam. In 2000, the same question got 50 percent in the family-and-friends column and 38 percent in the quality-ratings column.
The results were presented at a meeting of the American Hospital Association. In a statement, Robert Blendon, professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health, said:
The pace of change in having consumers use independent expert ratings when they choose a hospital has been slower than anticipated. More can be done to encourage this.
Blendon’s group conducted the poll, which included responses from 1,034 people and has a margin of error of +/- 3.7 percentage points.
Health Care Reality Check
PART ONE
Satire
It’s Tuesday, April 12th.
After a leaked draft put Conservatives on the defensive about questionable infrastructure projects, the Auditor General is urging Canadians to wait for her office’s final report on G8 and G20 summit costs.
Currently, turns out they got the Fake Lake for half the cost of an actual lake.
This is The Current.
Health Care Reality Check – David Dodge
We started this segment with a clip of three Canadians talking about their stuggles with illness. Going into this election, more Canadians picked health care as their top political concern over any other issue. Given that, you might think health care would be a key election issue. But as the federal leaders hunker down in preparation for tonight’s English-language debate, health care seems to have been largely side-lined.
This morning, we focused on the problems and hopefully some solutions on health care. We began with the pessimistic perspective of former Bank of Canada Governor, David Dodge. In a new report for the CD Howe Institute, he argues our current health care system is unsustainable and that governments will have to make difficult choices to fix it. David Dodge was in Phoenix, Arizona this morning.
Health Care Reality Check – Michael Rachlis/Diana Gibson
Not everyone agrees with David Dodge’s assessment. Michael Rachlis is a health policy analyst and an associate professor at the University of Toronto. And Diana Gibson researches health care policy and she’s the Research Director at the Parkland Institute at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
Tenet Healthcare Files a Lawsuit against Community Health Systems
Tenet Healthcare, which is struggling against a takeover bid by Community Health Systems, has filed a lawsuit saying that the rival hospital chain overbilled Medicare by almost $1 billion over three years.
Though Franklin-based Community Health is pretty determined to stick to its stance of buying Tenet but this lawsuit by Tenet has caused the stocks of both the companies dip down, further affecting the chares of other hospitals.
Referring to Tenet’s claim as a baseless attempt to distract shareholders, CHS officials said that it had become quite clear that Tenet had adopted a scorched earth defense without giving any thought about the best interests of shareholders.
Tenet has made serious allegations saying that CHS has always been trying to convert emergency room visitors into admitted patients in order to squeeze more money out of the Medicare whereas there was a possibility of keeping all those patients in a less expensive setup.
Sheryl Skolnick, an analyst with CRT Capital in Stamford, Conn., said, “Community Health needs to lift up the curtains and show Wall Street, investors and others how it is able to have observation rates (of patients) much lower than the industry average”.
Pardee Hospital & UNC Health Care System Discuss Possible Collaboration
Pardee Hospital has entered into an agreement to explore a possible relationship with University of North Carolina Health Care System (UNC HCS). UNC HCS is a not-for-profit, integrated health care system located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Along with Pardee Hospital, UNC HCS has been recognized nationally for patient centered care that focuses on providing safe, cost-effective, and quality healthcare services.
Current discussions between the Pardee Hospital Board of Directors and UNC HCS are focused on a collaboration that would provide opportunities to enhance Pardee’s current clinical services and develop additional services that meet the needs of the people in Henderson County.š As well, there may be cost savings that are developed across both organizations. The structure of this relationship is yet to be determined, but the sale of Pardee Hospital is not a consideration.
“The Henderson County Board of Commissioners initiated these discussions with UNC HCSš in concert with the Pardee Board. We are pleased that the Pardee Board is acting on our joint discussions to explore an enhanced relationship with UNC Health Care.š The entire Board of Commissioners is very excited about both the short-term and long-term possibilities this potential partnership brings to the citizens of our county,” stated Michael Edney, Chairman, Henderson County Board of Commissioners.
William Lapsley, Pardee Hospital Board Chair commented, “It’s the Board’s desire to support our growing population and their need for quality healthcare services. These discussions explore that initiative. Our mission, as a locally owned, locally governed hospital is to look forward to meet the healthcare needs of the residents who utilize Pardee Hospital.” Lapsley continued, “The residents of Henderson County who have supported Pardee Hospital for the last 57 years have seen the hospital’s growth in services that are important to the people of Henderson County.š We want to continue those quality services in partnership with physicians and area providers. We will keep all our stakeholders updated on a periodic basis of the discussions with UNC Health Care.”
An affiliation between Pardee Hospital and UNC HCS may improve access and delivery of medical services in Henderson County and enhance medical education programs currently in place in Western North Carolina.
Pardee Hospital is the only hospital owned by the residents of Henderson County. Founded in 1953, it is a not-for-profit hospital licensed for 222 acute care beds and is the second largest employer in Henderson County. The hospital has several locations separate from the main campus, including an adult day services center, a health education center in the Blue Ridge Mall, home care services, a rehab and wellness center, various physician practices, and an urgent care facility.