Primary Care Is at the Center of a Health Revolution

By KEVIN WANG, MD If our urgent-care-as-healthcare culture isn’t killing us, it’s certainly wasting our time and resources.  Consider these facts highlighted by Advanced Medical Reviews, based on various studies:  U.S. physicians report that more than 20 percent of overall medical care is not needed. The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that up to 30 percent of the costs of medical care delivered in the U.S. pay for tests, procedures, doctor visits, hospital stays, and other services that may not actually improve patient health. Unnecessary medical treatment impacts the healthcare industry through decreased physician productivity, increased cost of medical care, and additional work for front office staff and other healthcare professionals. Most of today’s primary care is, in retail terms, a loss leader — a well-oiled doorway to the wildly expensive sick care system. For decades, practitioners have been forced into production factories, seeing as many patients, ordering as many tests, and sending as many referrals as possible to specialists. Patients, likewise, have avoided going in for regular visits for fear of the price tag attached, often waiting until they’re in such bad shape that urgent (and much more expensive) care is necessary. The system as it stands isn’t delivering primary care in a way that serves patients, providers, employers, or insurers as well as it could. To improve health at individual and po...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Hospitals Medical Practice Physicians Primary Care advanced primary care Care coordination health coaching Kevin Wang value-based care Vera Whole Health Source Type: blogs