Stephen C Schimpff's Blog – December 2009 Archive (9)

Healthcare Reform Misconception - Costs are rising because of the avarice and greed or just unregulated “bad guys

Drug and technology companies, doctors, hospitals, malpractice lawyers and third-party payers/insurers deserve some approbation and bear some responsibility at the margin, but these are not the major reasons why costs are rising. But it seems that politicians, the media and so many others seem to believe what’s convenient rather than what is accurate.

The real culprits are: 1) the poor coordination of care of those with chronic illness resulting in excess visits to specialists,… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on December 29, 2009 at 11:05am — No Comments

Misconception - Universal coverage for all Americans will reduce costs

Unfortunately that is not the case; indeed it will create substantial added expenditures. Today we spend about $7500 per capita for medical care each year. That is built into our insurance whether it is commercial or Medicare along with co-pays and deductibles. In my view it is unfortunate that Congress has not done much to address the high and rising costs of medical care in the reform bills.

America is the only country in the developed world that does not have some system to ensure… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on December 23, 2009 at 11:59am — No Comments

Misconception – Healthcare reform will fundamentally improve how we receive care going forward.

This is also not at all likely except for those who do not now have medical care insurance. For the rest of us, medical care delivery will change but it will change not because of reform but because of some fundamental societal and demographic reasons along with a marked change in the types, severity and chronicity of illnesses that is occurring right now. The combination of an aging population and our non-healthy lifestyles (obesity, poor nutrition, lack of exercise, stress and smoking) are… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on December 21, 2009 at 2:12pm — No Comments

Misconception – The remarkable medical scientific advances are rapidly made available to the care delivery system.

We should so hope but often that it is just not the case.

Laparoscopic surgery took medicine by storm 20 years ago but some new technologies of great value are slow to be adopted, such as simulation for teaching procedures rather than learning by practicing on the patient. Sometimes it is because the old way is “the way we have always done it” and sometimes it is because those holding the purse strings just do not appreciate the underlying value. Laparoscopic surgery got patients out… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on December 16, 2009 at 5:20pm — No Comments

Video Conference with Becton Dickinson – The Future of Medicine

I was recently invited to present my thoughts on the Future of Medicine, based on my book of the same name, to the worldwide medical affairs group at Becton Dickinson, the giant medical device and diagnostics company headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. Their senior vice president for medical affairs, Dr David Durack, requested that I review the basic megatrends developing as a result of the scientific advances from genomics, stem cells transplantation, vaccines, pharmaceuticals,… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on December 14, 2009 at 9:36am — 1 Comment

Misconception - “Health care reform” will improve the delivery of care and offer us better care opportunities.

In fact, healthcare reform is not about healthcare; it is mostly about paying for medical care for the uninsured and only somewhat about the rising costs of medical care. I use the term medical care here to emphasize that today American “healthcare” is all about treating disease and injury and very little about promoting wellness and preventing illness. The reforms being proposed are about addressing the financing of medical care but not the quality, the safety or the way that healthcare will… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on December 12, 2009 at 3:41pm — 2 Comments

Misconception - Healthcare reform will have an impact on the advances in medical science.

This sounds logical but there are frankly amazing advances in medicine that are around the corner no matter what “reform” occurs. These advances are related to our national commitment to basic science and to engineering and computer science developments and their translation to clinical care. The National Institutes of Health, research organizations such as our medical schools, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and the medical device industry are constantly bringing forth new… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on December 11, 2009 at 9:53am — No Comments

Common Misconceptions About Healthcare Reform

American medicine must change - and the change will be both substantial and difficult to achieve but change is critical if we are to have a well functioning healthcare system that affords all of us safe, quality care at a reasonable cost in a customer-focused manner. Today there are many misconceptions about healthcare reform - misconceptions about who will have access, how much it will cost, who will pay the bills, whether it will benefit those who currently have insurance, whether there will… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on December 9, 2009 at 10:01am — 3 Comments

Mammograms as a Stalking Horse for Issues in Healthcare Reform

As we watch the reform movement in Washington, we see and hear so many misconceptions. A current one relates to mammography. A few weeks ago guidelines were published in the prestigious Annals of Internal Medicine stating, in effect, that women between ages 50 and 75 with no history of breast cancer in their family and normal mammograms to date could probably switch from annual to biannual exams. And women between ages 40 and 50 probably did not need to get mammograms as had been previously… Continue

Added by Stephen C Schimpff on December 7, 2009 at 9:44am — 2 Comments