From: Brian D Williams (talon57@well.com)
Date: Tue Jan 22 2002 - 12:06:02 MST
>From: Anders Sandberg <asa@nada.kth.se>
>>Brian D Williams wrote:
>>I think the point of improvement for U.S. health care is to take
>>a more pro-active approach. People should see their doctors
>>regularly and as the old adage goes "an ounce of prevention is
>>worth a pound of cure". The system should be structured
>>economically to make this happen.
>How could it be structured to make this happen? I guess insurance
>companies would be interested in this too, if it could reduce
>future costs.
This is supposed to be the original intent of HMO's (Health
Maintenance Organizations) here in the U.S. but they've largely
devolved into just plain poor health care providers.
I had read somewhere that in China, doctors are paid when people
are well, and then when they are sick the doctors have to treat
them for free. Probably urban myth but an interesting possibility.
>I also consider it important that we get away from the old model
>where the patient is a client and essentially put in a subservient
>position, to a model where the patient is a customer, going to the
>doctor to buy health-related personal information or services.
>Part of this is happening with internet-enabled people who look up
>their illnessed before going to the doctor, seeing themselves more
>as part of the team than just an object to be cured, but I think
>this process could be improved further. In fact, if health
>information and health services could be more efficiently spread
>through the net, we would get a noticeable increase in prevention.
We're starting to see a lot of competitiveness amongst health care
providers here in the U.S. at least in urban areas. You'll see
hospitals build little emergency care centers in each others
territories.
Getting insurance carriers involved is something else. I'm
considering getting LASIK surgery done and am trying to convince my
carrier to pick up part/all the cost as part of my prescription eye
benefits.
I agree that net based health care information is the future.
Brian
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