I don't know if you see this but healthcare is spiraling out of balance. Perhaps into self-destruction.
Our industry is a mess. And it's costing us dearly.
How? You ask.
All in Policy
AI replacing doctors. What do doctors think about that?
Last week, I was teaching health IT to clinicians in Mthatha, South Africa. Interventional cardiologists. Pulmonologists. Psychiatrists. Family physicians. Surgeons. Orthopedic doctors. More.
Disturbingly, US ranks last in healthcare performance (yes, again)
Just look at this graph. There's a wide gap between U.S. and other high income countries. In healthcare spending. It's been widening since 1980.
A dance called health insurance reimbursement
Health insurance is surely important. It protects people from the financial burden of falling sick. It extends timely access to care.
Insurance companies have today become the bridge that doctors and patients traverse everyday in delivering and receiving care.
Rethinking government's role in healthcare
There's a lot of debate about government's role in healthcare. Much of our attention is focused on fixing sickness not preventing disease.
We obsess about availability of doctors, hospital beds, staff and infrastructure to treat sick people. We don't debate enough about government's role in maintaining health of its population.
A new healthcare law to worry about
There's always something new to worry about for the healthcare industry.
On Jan 1st, 2017, a new law to track physician performance went into first gear. It's called MACRA - a law that could be as important as the Affordable Care Act, which led to the name Obamacare.