Better Collaboration Between Physicians and Financial Managers
By Sam Wertheimer My research on cost measurement in health care has shown me that physicians can improve the value of care through better collaboration with financial managers. Financial managers include business analysts, supply and equipment purchasers, operations specialists, and human resources staff. These personnel plan budgets, monitor spending, hire personnel, and report financial performance to top management and external stakeholders. Despite the vital role these staff members play in supporting clinical operations, financial managers are often disconnected from front-line...
Read MoreMedical Educators Need to Take Charge and Help Deflate Medical Bills
By Neel Shah, MD, Christopher Moriates, MD, and Vineet Arora of Costs of Care. At a time when one in three Americans report difficulty paying medical bills, up to $750 billion is being spent on care that does not help patients become healthier. Although physicians are routinely required to manage expensive resources, traditional medical training offers few opportunities to learn how to deliver the highest quality care at the lowest possible cost. While the gap is glaring the problem is not new. In 1975, the department of medicine at Charlotte Memorial Hospital initiated a system to...
Read MoreThinking Through the Cost of Childbirth
Dr. Lauren Demosthenes is an assistant professor of clinical ob/gyn at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine – Greenville. I had lunch with my old college roommate last week She’s a new grandmother and was telling me about her daughter who lives in another state. Her daughter is self pay because she and her husband own a restaurant and have opted out of insurance due to the cost. She received her hospital bill in the mail and she was surprised at the cost of some of the items. As she looked through her bill, she saw some items that she wasn’t even aware that she...
Read MoreSide Effects May Include Financial Ruin
Christopher Moriates, MD is a senior resident in Internal Medicine at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). He is a co-creator of a cost awareness curriculum for residents at UCSF and is currently working with the American College of Physicians (ACP) on their national “High Value, Cost Conscious Care” curriculum. He winced in a way that made me feel his discomfort. It wasn’t overly dramatic; it was a response of a man trying to put on a brave face and hide his pain, but – as I gently laid my hands on his belly – failing against his best efforts. This man had...
Read MoreDropping the Price of Surgery
The following anecdote is by Dr. Jeffrey Rice, MD, JD – CEO of www.healthcarebluebook.com. I would like to share a story about my son’s recent surgery that, while only one simple case, reveals the foundational problem with the U.S. health care system. I write this story as a father of a 12 year old boy who has cerebral palsy. Jack is fortunate to be healthy and active with minor medical needs. As he has grown he experienced some issues with contractures in his right lower leg which recently required a minor 2 hour outpatient surgical procedure. That is where our saga...
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