The future of healthcare - letting the doctors weigh in
While surfing around my bloglines (blog reader) and Twitter and news sources this morning I couldn't help but notice a theme. Healthcare and the White House seem to be making a comeback as a hot topic. But instead of just finding out what is happening with healthcare reform in terms of what the White House is doing, it seems that more and more people are publishing views from the doctors perspective.
The first post that I read was from Suture for a Living called Health Care Discussion. It summarizes a "conference call" or discussion panel that was held between several doctors regarding healthcare reform. It points out that by decreasing costs, you may be setting patients up for receiving an "inferior product". That perhaps cost cutting should not be the main objective and that other avenues should be looked at.
The next post that I found through Twitter (www.twitter.com/drval - who coincidentally participated in the above conference call) was Are Health Policy Experts Anti-Physician? from Better Heath and KevinMD.com. This post discusses how doctors feel that a large part of healthcare reform revolves around pay cuts for physicians. The doctor feels that instead of cutting pay as the main option, there are other areas better served to be looked at first.
My favorite article came from Cnn.com and is called King: Cleveland Clinic Pushes into the Future. This article talks about how the Cleveland Clinic already puts many of the practices in place that the reform is pushing for. It talks about how these are working for the Clinic and how doctors and administrators at the Clinic feel it would work for the country as a whole.
All of these pieces are honest and heart felt. And even though they don't all agree with the current proposed health care reform, I do believe that they feel that some kind of healthcare reform is necessary.
What do you think? Do you think the current proposed healthcare reform would work? Do you think we should leave things as they are or do you have a better idea?
The first post that I read was from Suture for a Living called Health Care Discussion. It summarizes a "conference call" or discussion panel that was held between several doctors regarding healthcare reform. It points out that by decreasing costs, you may be setting patients up for receiving an "inferior product". That perhaps cost cutting should not be the main objective and that other avenues should be looked at.
The next post that I found through Twitter (www.twitter.com/drval - who coincidentally participated in the above conference call) was Are Health Policy Experts Anti-Physician? from Better Heath and KevinMD.com. This post discusses how doctors feel that a large part of healthcare reform revolves around pay cuts for physicians. The doctor feels that instead of cutting pay as the main option, there are other areas better served to be looked at first.
My favorite article came from Cnn.com and is called King: Cleveland Clinic Pushes into the Future. This article talks about how the Cleveland Clinic already puts many of the practices in place that the reform is pushing for. It talks about how these are working for the Clinic and how doctors and administrators at the Clinic feel it would work for the country as a whole.
All of these pieces are honest and heart felt. And even though they don't all agree with the current proposed health care reform, I do believe that they feel that some kind of healthcare reform is necessary.
What do you think? Do you think the current proposed healthcare reform would work? Do you think we should leave things as they are or do you have a better idea?
Tags: healthcare, reform
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Comment by Ellen S on July 1, 2009 at 12:03pm -
Janeen,
These were fabulous. A couple I read myself, as well as a few others. Like you, I wanted to blog about it, but for me I was unsure what approach to take. There are many points of view. How does one write about them all?
Each person involved in the health care 'ring' - doctor, patient, nurse, administrator, insurance carrier, tax payer - all have valid points of view to be deliberated with thought. We all participate and all should be heard and considered in due course. We all have voices. Do we have the right to complain later if we have failed to use them?
I wish I had a better idea to offer, but I'm just not that smart. The truth is, I'm still considering facts. I am not at all confident I have enough to judge, even for myself! What I understand of current reform I cannot agree with, yet what is happening now as good people die in our current (non)system is unconscionable to those who cannot turn their faces from the suffering.
There must be a better answer.
I can't help but think that our resolution is out there waiting to be discovered. I hope that someone more learned can figure it out, then be proactive enough - brave enough - to tell us about it. I hope that we as a people would be intelligent enough to listen to ideas - hear them through - and perhaps begin a thoughtful dialog, with patience and respect for all concerned. We will all pay a price, and we will all reap benefits.
There is a sense of urgency that is warranted, but I hate to see us create greater harm in our rush to drastically change a system that is not good, but still remains a leader. If we do this right, where we stand now may perhaps be a stepping stone toward finding the one system that can be the model for all others. I just pray that we don't jump into the moat before we find the bridge that keeps us all from drowning.
I'm glad to read anyone with a respectful, intelligent opinion or plan, and happy to see a few featured on WEGO Health.
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