Survivor: Hospital Edition

You knew it was coming. Reality TV has come to health care.
WDEY network began filming a new reality show last month; it’s called Medicine Unlocked (1). It follows real patients navigating the health care system in search of treatment for their ailments. Each two-hour episode focuses on four patients who share a specific preliminary diagnosis; one week it’s back pain, another it may be gall bladder problems or men with suggested prostate cancer. Each patient-contestant receives a pre-loaded health savings account and debit card and earns “keys” that allow passage through a series of decision “gates.” Gate 1 is Who (will be their doctor); Gate 2 is What (confirming their diagnosis); Gate 3 is How (the problem will be treated); and Gate 4 is Where (the treatment will occur). By successfully getting through the gates to a successful treatment, patients become eligible for a $1 million grand prize.
The reason this is a reality show rather than a documentary is that the Who, What and How gates consists of a choice among three options. Two options are real, one is fictional. As an example, in the arthritis episode, a pretend bone-specialist convinces one patient that a new nano-Teflon coating can be applied to his knee with a robotic needle at half the price of knee replacement. For gallstones, a radiologist explains how the small dots on the image were actually undigested items blocking her bile duct (“tell me, have you ever swallowed your gum in the past, Mrs. Jeff...

Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - January 23, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Consumer Health Care Cost Patients Quality safety Source Type: blogs