*16Apr15* Keep Patients Healthy, and Doctors Sane - NYTimes.com
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/04/16/opinion/keep-patients-healthy-and-doctors-sane.html?referrer=
Health Care Systems Try to Cut Costs by Aiding the Poor and Troubled - NYTimes.com
King v. Burwell
- http://thedianerehmshow.org/audio/#/shows/2015-03-03/king-v-burwell-and-the-future-of-obamacare/@00:00
- http://www.npr.org/2015/03/03/390431475/round-two-health-care-law-faces-the-supreme-court-again
I like the fact that this article and this new program in Hennepin focuses on preventative care and resources for those in need. American health is largely based on reactionary healthcare (fixing the problem at hand, and not preventing it) and as a staggering lack of resources for those in need.
ReplyDelete"The aim is to fix patients’ problems before they become expensive medical issues, so the county put its social services department to work. Its workers help people get phones and mailboxes, and take care of unpaid utility bills that otherwise could lead, for example, to insulin spoiling in nonfunctioning refrigerators. The project has even invested in a place where inebriated patients can sober up instead of going to the emergency room."
This seems like a great step towards preventative care and almost seems idealtic. However, in Hennepin County, medical costs have fallen on average by 11 percent per year since 2012 when the pilot program began. Furthermore, the hospital stills makes money per the terms of the program as well. However, I don't know if many insurance companies and private healthcare systems would be willingly to expand coverage. However, I feel like "the war on poverty" needs to be a central issue in America as many problems socially and economically stem from poverty.
Preventive care is so important.i don't think we pay enough attention. Insurances need to be open to the idea of paying for preventive health care. It is so hard to be able to pay for these when insurances don't pay for it.
DeleteI agree that preventative care is more important than we think. If insurance companies covered more of these costs, it would probably cost less than paying for a type 2 diabetic's medical supplies than helping lower the risk of obesity- for example.
DeletePoverty does have a tremendous role in America socially and economically. It leads to a vicious cycle of families in a financial hole, that is nearly impossible to get out of without assistance, especially when it gets to the point of homelessness. Hennepin County is doing great things by taking steps to reduce cost of care in the Emergency room and developing alternative methods of care for individuals who are only needing a place to sober up as you said. We as student nurses are taught to...teach preventative care to patients who are already in the hospital for nearly the worst of the situation. I find this ironic that we let these patients get to this point and continue to go about our way of healthcare rather than developing alternate forms of teaching to prevent such disease processes and promote healthy living to otherwise healthy individuals.
DeleteI agree on the basis of America existing in a state of a "sick care system". This is certainly not conducive to a healthy state however it is what we currently exist in. Preventative medicine is for sure a better approach to controlling costs assuming people will seek out treatment because there is another factor aside from a monetary barrier that prevents people from going to the doctor, but also the fact that people look at the doctors as an inconvenience to our fast paced society based upon productivity
DeleteMy favorite part of this article is when Owen, who was part of the research team said he had this "forehead smacking realization" that instead of just amputating a diabetics foot, to provide winter boots for them. A less costly alternative to a huge medical procedure that will almost be never ending for a diabetic. The entire article is based on this idea that instead of trying to find ways to cut costs in the immediate medical system, we have to look beyond that. Instead of treating the disease or problem when it arises, you beat it to the punch and make sure that the problem has no way to exists in the first place. That's how you cut costs, not by skimping on medical care or only offering it at a high price, but by making sure the simple problems that end up costing lots of money have very little possibility of actually happening. Preventative healthcare.
ReplyDeleteDemi,
DeleteI too thought htat this realization by Owen was funny. It is such an simple and easy intervention, yet doctors are all too eager to amputate or preform other drastic interventions. I think that the key to being healthy and effectivly managing and even preventing diseases is prevntative care. Preventative care is also much much cheaper than actually treating the disease and its effects. It seems to me that the simple answer is to just have a system in which preventative heath care is the emphasized care. Unfortunately this is not the case and as a result billions are sent each year on reactionary medicine.
After reading the Healthy Patients and Keeping Doctors Sane article, I feel like I have a better understanding of how Obama care stuff works. I will start off by saying that I agree that everyone should have access to health care and I think that health care is right, similar to the right to education. I think that if people are insured properly it could cut down on emergency room visits because patients would have a regular yearly check up with their doctor to prevent diabetes( for example) from getting out of hand. At the same time, I think we should have universal health care either. My parents work hard to earn a living and pay our bills and I think they deserve to have better insurance with more benefits or certain benefits. The same thing applies to Bill Gates, I think he has the right to use Medicaid because he helped pay into the system, therefore he should get to use some of it, that is fair in my opinion. I doubt Gates will even need but its there in case he does need assistance.
ReplyDeleteI think that aiding the poor in order to benefir the health are system is a great idea. Not only would it reduce the costs of health care, but it would also reduce the amount of homeless people in the United States. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reported that over 500,000 people were homeless in America on any given night in 2014. I found it astonishing in the article that during these health care experiments the 250 people were placed into permanent housing in Hennepin County. If we could do this in more counties, we could greatly reduce those 500,000 by getting them on their feet. Once they are on their feet, the unnecessary use of the hospital and prevention of illness will greatly shrink health care costs. the problem with aiding the poor is that it is an investment that dosent provide immediate profit. It will take time to see the greater benefits it will have on health care But I think it would be worth it.
ReplyDeleteI believe this to be a part of this intricate problem and that there is many variables which contribute to this issue as a whole. Providing housing to the poor seems of a positive idea however in our housing market I would still be highly skeptical of that solution. I believe much more variables must be evaluated in order to come up with a well thought our plan as to combat this growing issue.
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