EP 749 Health Care Consolidations Raise Costs, But What About Outcomes?

Even if you’re not paying great attention to what’s happening to healthcare in your local community, the trends are hard to miss–hospital consolidations, the growth of out-patient facilities affiliated with the hospitals, and insurance company involvement in medical practices and pharmaceuticals, all of which drive up the cost and limit the choices in healthcare.  It’s a distressing picture.  Ask your doctor or anyone who’s been trying to access care recently and you’ll hear the same stories about a focus on efficiency over quality and a bedraggled medical support team, including nurses and medical assistants, pressured to improve bottom lines.  Regardless of whether a facility is deemed for-profit or non-profit, revenue over expense, is driving what should be medical decisions toward greater concerns for financial outcomes over the specialized needs of patients.  So what does one informed, caring practitioner have to say about all of this?  Dr. Marion Mass, co-founder of Practicing Physicians of America, shares her concerns with you today

 

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