tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9827454.post1541399698183214086..comments2023-10-23T12:23:54.134-05:00Comments on Larry James' Urban Daily: Evidenced-based careLarry Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06124477733714017000noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9827454.post-32686378529954061472009-12-15T15:46:02.820-06:002009-12-15T15:46:02.820-06:00Larry, thank you so much for your enthusiasm about...Larry, thank you so much for your enthusiasm about Baylor Health Care System’s new Accountable Care program. We appreciate you posting a link to the Dallas Morning News article as well. It’s nice to hear real stories from people like you to remind us of how impactful this program could be. We are looking forward to making progress. Again, thank you for your support. Take care!<br /> <br />Ashley Howland<br />Baylor Health Care System<br />@baylorhealth<br />Facebook.com/BaylorHealthBaylor Social Media Teamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05554815034995191240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9827454.post-74838689434121488432009-12-15T15:44:43.992-06:002009-12-15T15:44:43.992-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Baylor Social Media Teamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05554815034995191240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9827454.post-6601310128741818682009-12-04T10:34:18.715-06:002009-12-04T10:34:18.715-06:00There was an excellent article in the Atlantic rec...There was an excellent article in the Atlantic recently. The author's father had died a year earlier after extensive medical treatment for which Medicare had been billed over $500,000. A significant part of the bill was for treatment necessitated by faulty medical care. But, in health care, doctors and hospitals actually profit from their mistakes, because they still get paid to fix them. All in all, it's an excellent assessment of just how broken our current system is. <br /><br />His conclusion is that any system in which the user bears little or no direct cost will inevitably result in massive amounts of unneeded care. The doctor says "let's run this test," and the patient has no incentive to ask how much it costs or whether it's really worth it. Nothing else - no other service we get - works this way. <br /><br />I fear if we don't fix this part of the system - that is, control costs - anything Washington does right now will only pile more and more 'last straws' on a badly broken system that is already an astonishing 17% of our GDP. And the most rational way to control costs may be to recreate the system in such a way that patients pay more for the treatment they receive, not a popular idea with those who have good health insurance.<br /><br />BTW: Bravo, Brenda, for questioning whether you needed that extra test!<br /><br />Ken<br />Dallas, TXAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com