Posted by
Roxanna M. on Friday, August 07, 2009 12:23:47 PM
1. Tort reform:
(a) the patient who feels that he/she has been the victim of medical malpractice files a complaint with the Medical Board of the State.
(b) the Medical Board orders the doctor/hospital/other to produce all records related to the event, with all identifying information redacted.
(c) the Medical Board then submits the records to 3 specialists in the field for review. If 2 out of the 3 say that malpractice occurred, then the case proceeds to resolution. If 2 out of the 3 say there wasn't, then the case is over. The doctor/hospital/other would pay all costs associated with this review.
Procedures would have to be put into place to prevent bias, i.e., is a certain specialist always going one way.
Remember: It is NOT lawyers who render big verdicts in medical malpractice cases. It is juries comprised of 12 ordinary people.
2. No health care through employment. This is one of the reasons that costs have gone up.
3. Health insurance should only be for: (1) emergencies; (2) catastrophic care; and (3) care for ongoing conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. How much would your car insurance be if you used it for routine maintenance?
The State has greatly contributed to the increasing costs of health insurance by demanding that insurance companies cover more and more, which has given doctors carte blanche to order more and more tests, which has caused insurance companies to pay out more money, which has greatly reduced their bottom line, forcing them to cut back on the amount paid to doctors, which has forced them to do more things and order more tests. You can see the vicious cycle being played out here.
4. No insurance reimbursement for "never events". Right now, infections are the gift that keeps on giving. Sloppy procedures and just plain negligence are behind the rise in infections, the cost of which health care providers just pass on to insurance companies. If you get an infection while in the hospital, then the hospital has to eat the costs of treating it. Period. Without insurance reimbursement, more care will be taken to make sure these kinds of things don't happen in the future. Leave something in the patient? You have to eat the costs of going back in to retrieve it. Bad result? You have to eat the cost of fixing it.
A friend of mine died from the breast cancer the doctor who read her mammogram every year said she didn't have. He should have been responsible for the costs of all of her follow-up treatment, including surgery and chemo.
A friend of mine died from being given the wrong medicine. The hospital should have eaten all the costs of the treatment it rendered trying to save him.
These are but a few examples.
By the way, defensive medicine is largely a myth. Tests are ordered all the time, whether they are needed or not, some just for the income they generate. I know of so many people who have tests just because the doctor says so.
One thing we all need to remember: there is no money in good health. The health care profession has a vested interested in keeping you coming in. That's why prescriptions have exploded. No continued prescription without seeing the doctor. Blood pressure 120/70? That's pre-hypertensive these days. Better keep an eye on that. Got diabetes? Better come in and see me every 3 months so I can keep an eye on it. Don't start an aspirin regime without seeing me. Don't start an exercise routine without seeing me.
Keep in mind that that medication you're taking today could have long term consequences down the road, for which you'll have to go see the doctor. We're all paying the price for the practice of handing out antiobiotics like candy. A friend of mine developed HRT-induced breast cancer, so did all of the women who were receiving radiation at the same time. Another developed blood clots. The number of people on antidepressants - 27 million - is approaching 10% of the general population.
These are simple ways that may not fix the system entirely - there will always be greed, fraud, and stupidity - but they're certainly a heckuva lot better than what the witless wonders in DC are currently contemplating.