Revamp health regulations to reduce cost and improve patient safety

Johns Hopkins ophthalmologist Oliver Schein has found a simple way to save a half a billion dollars a year from our country’s health care bill, with no negative effect on patient health. The only thing standing in the way is a stubborn government requirement. Seventeen years ago, Dr. Schein and colleagues published a study finding that cataract surgery patients who underwent routine preoperative testing — such as an electrocardiogram, blood tests, and imaging studies — had no fewer complications than those with zero testing. The risks of this surgery are so small that they can typically be identified and handled on the day it occurs. Nonetheless, 53 percent of patients continue to receive testing as part of a preoperative medical exam despite robust evidence that this exam and testing does not reduce surgical risk for cataracts patients. While this medical exam is not routinely performed before dental procedures, most endoscopies, and office-based minor procedures, it continues to be required by the federal government and accrediting organizations before every cataract operation and other low-risk elective procedures. For cataracts, the costs of these mandatory exams is a roughly half a billion dollars annually. Among Medicare beneficiaries, no procedure is performed more than cataract surgery, which is projected to grow to 3.3 million surgeries a year by 2020. Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Policy Health reform Source Type: blogs