Fixing Healthcare
April 20, 2018
PM360
April 20, 2018
By Brenda Snow
https://www.pm360online.com/fixing-healthcare/
Summary
It seems like every stakeholder has a short and simple explanation at the ready for what’s broken about healthcare—and it’s always someone else’s fault. Fortunately, the focus has started to shift from finger pointing to finding real solutions thanks to an understanding that while we used to encourage volume, we meant to encourage value. The goal should never have been to perform this many procedures, to prescribe that many pills, or to keep x amount of patients admitted in a hospital bed.
Instead, the goal should have been to treat health conditions following the best protocols science has discovered, to improve quality of life, and to prolong life and cure diseases where possible. By starting to focus on value instead of volume, the healthcare industry has finally embarked on a path towards sustainability. The utopian vision is for society as a whole to be able to directly address two essentially ethical questions: “What do we want our health and care to be,” and “How much are we prepared to spend on it?” Right now, the only available answers are: “Whatever we can get” and “at any cost.” [continue reading on PM360]
