Have you noticed you can put "e-" in front of just about anything, and we all know what that means? We do so much online today – (r)e-tail, e-zines, e-trading and e-banking. And now there’s e-patient.
New research says that 61 percent of us go online for health information from trusted websites. We research symptoms to see if we need to a doctor, and then look up the diagnosis and treatment after we go to the doctor. About one in five e-patients interact with each other online, comparing experiences to broaden their understanding at Patients Like Me or e-patients.net
Whether it’s a simple diagnosis or a complex life-changing condition, being an e-patient helps us be effective and educated about what we can do to support our own health. I’ve talked in this blog about my own experience with looking online and replacing prescription meds with over-the-counter remedies – it was really empowering to do that myself because these options weren’t on my doctor’s radar.
People with the most experience in the health care system – those with chronic conditions – are really active e-patients, because they know how hard it is to figure out the treatment routine that works for them. They have a lot of experience challenging the system and asking “why” and “how much.”
As we are all paying more for health care these days, here’s another online resource for the e-patient: our Cost Generator, so we can be prepared with the real price tag of medical procedures.
If you've got an e-patient story, please let us hear about it at our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/TheRealCost.
— Susan with Regence
Thursday, November 12, 2009
After House bill passed, more are asking: What's the real cost?
Real health care reform would put a halt to some of the $700 billion wasted each year in treatment and other expenses that do nothing to improve health.
The House bill does adopt new insurance rules and gets nearly everyone covered. But the consensus of news organizations around the country – and across the political spectrum – is that the bill passed by the U.S. House will do little to curb rampant medical spending.
Let’s not lose sight of real reforms that have the potential to reduce costs for everyone.
These people are also asking, "What's the real cost?"
Washington Post: Editorial: Flawed health reform
“As we have said, it does not do enough to control costs, and it is not funded in a sustainable way. Expanding coverage for the uninsured is imperative, but so, too, is getting the country on a credible fiscal path."
The Columbus Dispatch: Editorial: Cooking the Books
“Americans want an improvement in the nation's health-care system, not only for themselves but for their neighbors. But they should not be saddled with an unsustainable, unaffordable overhaul sold to them with accounting gimmicks and rosy projections.”
Huffington Post: Cost containment remains the missing piece
The most important debate - how to slow the inexorable growth of health care costs - has scarcely begun…. The House bill fails to deal seriously with the long-term challenge of reducing the unsustainable pace at which health care costs grow each year. That is what drives premiums up for working Americans, helps to price U.S. businesses out of global competition, and escalates spending on Medicare and Medicaid.
Philadelphia Inquirer: Historic but unaffordable
House plan … is unaffordable despite bearing the title "Affordable Health Care for America Act." Unfortunately, the House measure does little to rein in escalating health-care costs, and that, in the end, would harm the middle class and small businesses alike.
New York Times: How to control rising health costs
With the House’s passage of a health care bill and the Senate legislation possibly moving to the floor for debate next week, many analysts are saying that neither bill goes far enough to slow rising health care costs — an issue that President Obama has made central to his reform agenda.
San Diego Union-Tribune: Fear of health ‘reform’ is warranted
“Consider the…basic promises about…health overhaul: that it actually would save money, that the only new taxes would be on the very wealthy and that individuals would be free to keep their present coverage and doctors. Each of these claims is a myth.”
Denver Post: A long way to go on health reform
Los Angeles Times: Health care’s hurdles
Atlantic: The case for a cost containment commission
The Salt Lake Tribune: Health care reform
The House bill does adopt new insurance rules and gets nearly everyone covered. But the consensus of news organizations around the country – and across the political spectrum – is that the bill passed by the U.S. House will do little to curb rampant medical spending.
Let’s not lose sight of real reforms that have the potential to reduce costs for everyone.
These people are also asking, "What's the real cost?"
Washington Post: Editorial: Flawed health reform
“As we have said, it does not do enough to control costs, and it is not funded in a sustainable way. Expanding coverage for the uninsured is imperative, but so, too, is getting the country on a credible fiscal path."
The Columbus Dispatch: Editorial: Cooking the Books
“Americans want an improvement in the nation's health-care system, not only for themselves but for their neighbors. But they should not be saddled with an unsustainable, unaffordable overhaul sold to them with accounting gimmicks and rosy projections.”
Huffington Post: Cost containment remains the missing piece
The most important debate - how to slow the inexorable growth of health care costs - has scarcely begun…. The House bill fails to deal seriously with the long-term challenge of reducing the unsustainable pace at which health care costs grow each year. That is what drives premiums up for working Americans, helps to price U.S. businesses out of global competition, and escalates spending on Medicare and Medicaid.
Philadelphia Inquirer: Historic but unaffordable
House plan … is unaffordable despite bearing the title "Affordable Health Care for America Act." Unfortunately, the House measure does little to rein in escalating health-care costs, and that, in the end, would harm the middle class and small businesses alike.
New York Times: How to control rising health costs
With the House’s passage of a health care bill and the Senate legislation possibly moving to the floor for debate next week, many analysts are saying that neither bill goes far enough to slow rising health care costs — an issue that President Obama has made central to his reform agenda.
San Diego Union-Tribune: Fear of health ‘reform’ is warranted
“Consider the…basic promises about…health overhaul: that it actually would save money, that the only new taxes would be on the very wealthy and that individuals would be free to keep their present coverage and doctors. Each of these claims is a myth.”
Denver Post: A long way to go on health reform
Los Angeles Times: Health care’s hurdles
Atlantic: The case for a cost containment commission
The Salt Lake Tribune: Health care reform
Monday, November 2, 2009
Weighing health care treatments: the big question to ask
But does it work?
Even if we don't say that question aloud, we implicitly ask it in our everyday lives. Each time we consider buying a new product or service, we want to be sure that it does what it says it will do. No one wants to throw away money.
But for some reason, when it comes to health care, people do seem willing to undergo treatments without asking: Does it work?
We assume doctors and medical experts are making decisions about our health care based on proven effectiveness. Strangely, that's not always the case. Treatments can be prescribed because they're new (not always better), or accepted (not always proven) even because of where a doctor was trained.
But decisions in health care need to be driven by a main criterion: data. One way to get data is comparative effectiveness research. The first advantage isn't too hard to figure out: Proven results would be better than guesswork.
Medical care is extremely complex: having some 13,000 diagnoses, 6,000 drugs and 4,000 procedures makes it difficult to pick the best course. Comparative research examines all the available medical studies and literature and delivers comparative data so doctors diagnose and treat illnesses based on evidence-based outcomes.
This is already happening on a piecemeal basis. Health care reform could make it more systematic. By combining the best research evidence with a patient's values, treatment would be more effective.
Along with more accurate diagnosis and care, there's a second advantage to evidence-based medicine: costs might just be lower. Why? Currently the health-care system pays for treatment whether it works or not. But just because it’s covered is no reason to waste your time with a treatment that isn’t effective.
When your doctor suggests a medication or other treatment, don’t be afraid to ask: But does it work? Don’t hesitate to do your own research on the Internet to get as much information as possible, and actively participate in decisions about your health.
The goal is for you to be comfortable that the tests or treatments recommended by your doctor are based on broad evidence from the medical literature. That's one way to begin to get health care costs under control — and to get good health care and lifestyle choices in your control. Where they belong.
Even if we don't say that question aloud, we implicitly ask it in our everyday lives. Each time we consider buying a new product or service, we want to be sure that it does what it says it will do. No one wants to throw away money.
But for some reason, when it comes to health care, people do seem willing to undergo treatments without asking: Does it work?
We assume doctors and medical experts are making decisions about our health care based on proven effectiveness. Strangely, that's not always the case. Treatments can be prescribed because they're new (not always better), or accepted (not always proven) even because of where a doctor was trained.
But decisions in health care need to be driven by a main criterion: data. One way to get data is comparative effectiveness research. The first advantage isn't too hard to figure out: Proven results would be better than guesswork.
Medical care is extremely complex: having some 13,000 diagnoses, 6,000 drugs and 4,000 procedures makes it difficult to pick the best course. Comparative research examines all the available medical studies and literature and delivers comparative data so doctors diagnose and treat illnesses based on evidence-based outcomes.
This is already happening on a piecemeal basis. Health care reform could make it more systematic. By combining the best research evidence with a patient's values, treatment would be more effective.
Along with more accurate diagnosis and care, there's a second advantage to evidence-based medicine: costs might just be lower. Why? Currently the health-care system pays for treatment whether it works or not. But just because it’s covered is no reason to waste your time with a treatment that isn’t effective.
When your doctor suggests a medication or other treatment, don’t be afraid to ask: But does it work? Don’t hesitate to do your own research on the Internet to get as much information as possible, and actively participate in decisions about your health.
The goal is for you to be comfortable that the tests or treatments recommended by your doctor are based on broad evidence from the medical literature. That's one way to begin to get health care costs under control — and to get good health care and lifestyle choices in your control. Where they belong.
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