Doctor visits, hospital admissions, outpatient surgery, laboratory testing and prescriptions have all declined according to recent reports:
Doctor visits fell 7.9 percent in May 2010 compared to the same month in 2009. (Thomson Reuters)
Hospital admissions fell 2.3 percent in April 2010 compared to the same month in 2009. (Thomson Reuters)
Outpatient surgical volume fell 2.6 percent at AmSurg Corp. compared to 2009. (same-facility procedures)
Laboratory test volumes fell 2.3 percent in the first quarter of 2010 at Quest Diagnostics.
New prescriptions for maintenance drugs fell in the first quarter of 2010 at CVS Caremark Corp.
According to the Wall Street Journal, "such cutbacks have happened before in recessions, but the drop seems to be more pronounced this time, industry analysts say."
Insured Americans are moving toward higher-deductible health plans and shouldering a greater amount of the cost of their care. As a result, they may be forgoing health care, especially when money is tight. The recession also may be causing people to delay or opt not to have elective procedures.
Whatever the cause of the unexpected drop in utilization, it will have the effect of lowering America's health care expenditures. Some believe this goes beyond the recession and may be the advent of consumerism in health care and the beginning of more practical utilization of health care services.
I say that this is a time when we must determine whether the decline in utilization is coming at a greater cost. Are people with chronic conditions receiving proper care to manage their health and prevent greater complications? Are people receiving immunizations and preventive care, especially children and older adults? Is it possible that the decline in utilization also is the result of the uninsured and underinsured choosing shelter, food and basic necessities over health care?
Before we celebrate a victory for health care consumerism, let's examine the cost of free-market forces.
— Tom DeSanto
Recession Today Keeps Patients Away?
Physicians Needed for Health Care Transformation
Yesterday, MDNews.com, an emerging online news network for physicians, posted an edited version of my "Peer Perspective" submission on its website. Here is the full text:
"As new health care reform laws drive us away from focusing on volume and more toward achieving greater value, physicians will have renewed opportunity to practice medicine as a science and art. Your expertise will be vital to setting and achieving higher standards of care and in squeezing out redundant or unnecessary costs. Focusing on volume has robbed physicians and their patients of the time it takes to provide comprehensive, consistent care. Focusing on quality has the promise of restoring more effective and fulfilling practice — if physicians embrace change and champion the role as leaders of transformation. It's easy to dismiss standardization, checklists and other quality and patient safety initiatives as an affront to freedom. In reality, they may actually serve to support physicians by removing risk and enabling you to excel as you apply your considerable talents and experience with an enhanced emphasis on achieving optimal outcomes."
My hope is that physicians will rise up, cast off the chains of bureaucracy that have bound them, and lead us to new age of medicine.
— Tom DeSanto
Image: MDNews.com Website
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