Quote of the day:
Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time... The wait is simply too long. - Leonard Bernstein
It seems to me we have had enough shifts, that we ought to have an automatic transmission in lieu of manual changes.
Richard Reece, MD elaborates;
"Something profound is happening in buyers’ and the public’s attitudes towards primary care and the health system. With inexorable rises in costs and corresponding decreases in access to primary care doctors, buyers and the public are mad as hell, and they’re deciding they’re not going to take it anymore. Something is badly and sadly wrong, and corrective measures are being put in place." in his
Medinnovation Blog.
What is driving this?
• Major corporate buyers, led by IBM, which spends $1.7 billion on health care, have created an activist organization, The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative.
• A vibrant movement is underway to “disintermediate” health plans. “Disintermediation” occurs when access to information or services is given directly to consumers.
• The “medical home” concept is gaining traction.
• New business models to reduce cost and offer convenience are fast evolving. These include retail clinics, medical offices at the worksite, specialty clinics, urgent care clinics, elective surgical centers, and ambulatory facilities offering imaging, multiple specialty services, and one-stop care.
• The physician empowerment movement is growing. The Physicians' Foundation for Health System Excellence,
Conclusion: A new primary care paradigm is upon us and will fundamentally change how the U.S. delivers care.