Physicians Practice - July/August 2008 - (Page 40)

HEALTHCARE REFORM What good things, you ask? The increase in covered preventive care, for one, says Dave Matheson, a senior partner with The Boston Consulting Group. Historically, medical care in the U.S. “has been set up to deal with health when it goes wrong. We do extraordinary work for ‘healthcare train wrecks.’ But now we’re investing up front,” says Matheson, who has been observing American healthcare for 25 years. “A good number of health plans have been putting many more dollars into able medical data, and more transparent healthcare delivery. Many critics insist that major reforms are needed to prompt these developments but Matheson maintains they are already happening without intervention, although not, perhaps, as quickly or as comprehensively as some would like. Additional time, not new regulations or a whole new system, is needed for these market-based reforms to reach full maturity, says the consultant. Not only will such concerned about healthcare’s “parents,” so to speak: “I’m worried that politics will not allow the healthcare industry to grow up.” We all know that true maturation includes self-accountability and delayed gratiﬁcation. Not easy. Will the American public, Antos wonders, be able to deal with this “awkward phase” and see healthcare through its complex metamorphosis? Antos also questions the wisdom of invoking such drastic proposals as universal health coverage or other extreme ideas. “You’ll hear some politicians say we have ‘the best healthcare in the world.’ No, we don’t,” he cautions. “But in spite of Mike Moore, we also don’t have coverage that’s only as good as Cuba. The views that politicians tend to give on these complicated topics are not so simple.” Make no mistake. No one is suggesting the U.S. should make like an ostrich, pretending nothing needs ﬁxing. “You won’t ﬁnd a sensible person that thinks there aren’t real problems,” says Antos. But despite its problems, healthcare “is a very dynamic sector” of the economy, Antos says. “We should not despair. … Things are changing all the time. All the entities in the health sector are constantly experimenting because they all have a similar interest to do business better. A lot of promising ideas are bubbling up and being tested.” COMPLEX TOPIC “You’ll hear some politicians say we have ‘the best healthcare in the world.’ No, we don’t. But in spite of Mike Moore, we also don’t have coverage that’s only as good as Cuba. The views that politicians tend to give on these complicated topics are not so simple.” Joseph Antos, American Enterprise Institute wellness than they did 10 years ago.” Some health plans, such as Harvard Pilgrim and BCBS of Massachusetts, to name just a couple, have lately focused heavily on improving their user interfaces. This has prompted “a steady shift in the perception that all a health plan’s interest is in denying — rather than providing — care,” says Matheson. Obviously, many physicians missed that memo. Matheson, though, insists that the trend among insurers and employers is toward greater emphasis on preventive care and it would be a shame for any reform to get in the way of that. Consumer-directed healthcare is on the rise, as are Internet-based social care support groups (e.g., www.autism-society.org), more reli40 | PHYSICIANS PRACTICE | JULY/AUGUST 2008 an overhaul likely fail to be the panacea touted by politicians, it will also need that exact same precious ingredient: time — and lots of it. “It’s unrealistic to think that next year, or the year after that, we’re going to change everything,” says Joseph Antos, a Wilson H. Taylor Scholar in healthcare and retirement policy at the Washington, D.C.based American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, a conservative-leaning Washington, D.C. think tank. Antos likens American healthcare to an adolescent — rip-roaring, full of all the requisite angst, and yearning for “grown-up” independence, but equally rife with insecurities and fear of change. Antos is particularly • ABOUT THE AUTHORS This article was written by the following staff members: Abigail Beckel is Managing Editor of Physicians Practice. Barbara A. Gabriel is a former Associate Editor of Physicians Practice. Shirley Grace is Associate Editor of Physicians Practice. Laurie Hyland Robertson is Senior Editor of Physicians Practice. Pamela L. Moore is Editorial Director of Physicians Practice. All authors may be reached via editor@physicianspractice.com WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM http://www.autism-society.org http://WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Physicians Practice - July/August 2008

Physicians Practice - July/August 2008 Contents The Bigger Picture: Battle Royale in the EMR Market Letters Physicians Practice Pearls: Hire Right Noteworthy Cover Story: Healthcare Reform: Voting for Change Patient Relations: Dealing with Problem Patients The tech Doctor: Is Self-Service Medicine Inevitable? Technology: Do EMRs Make You a Better Doctor? The Guide Idealab: Cash-Only Care Still Works The Administrators Desk: Who’s in Charge? Ask The Experts What Went Wrong: ‘Why Our Great Idea Didn’t Work’ Coding Start It Up: How to Launch a Practice: Operations Partnership: Don't Let Partner Conflict Destroy Your Practice Appraisals: What’s Your Practice Worth? Getting Advice: How to Hire a Consultant Classifieds Advertiser Index

Physicians Practice - July/August 2008

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