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The Business of Health Care Report
Today, we will examine government
regulation of health care and how it impacts consumers. Most health care providers
understand that regulation is necessary to assure basic protections for patients,
prevent fraud and promote access to care. But those who give care hospitals,
physicians, nurses and others are increasingly concerned that health care
regulation is out of control and has lost a sense of fairness and common sense. Every time a nurse, physician
or other health care worker cares for a patient, a host of regulations and statutes
govern their actions, especially if the patient is a Medicare or Medicaid recipient.
The rules extend far beyond providing quality care
sometimes too far. The Mayo
Foundation estimates that caregivers are subject to 132,390 pages of rules that
govern Medicare and Medicaid. In the hospital emergency department, every hour
dedicated to patient care generates an hour of paperwork, says a PricewaterhouseCoopers
study conducted on behalf of the American Hospital Association. And this is only federal
regulation. Hospitals also are regulated by local and state agencies, as well as
other private accrediting organizations. The issue is not whether to
regulate but how. A necessary first step is to create a more reasonable approach
to developing and issuing future regulations. Equally critical is the need to
provide relief from the most burdensome, inefficient or ineffective regulations
that take away from critical time spent with patients. Change in the way hospitals
are regulated also should be driven by broader health care policy decisions, such
as the way in which health care coverage and access are financed. It is important for our elected
officials at the federal, state and local levels to examine regulations that work,
those that dont and to help shape a realistic role for regulation in health care
with more patient time and less paperwork hassles. While the circumstances for the
growing number of uninsured Americans are varied, the end result is simple. Until
something changes, other efforts to improve health care will be done with one arm
tied behind our backs. For Texas Health Resources
and its family of hospitals - Harris Methodist Hospitals, Presbyterian
Healthcare System and Arlington Memorial Hospital - I'm CEO
Doug Hawthorne
with "The Business of Health Care Report" on NewsRadio 1080 KRLD.
©
2004 Texas Health Resources Sources: U.S. Bureau of the
Census, Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2002, issued September 2003 |
I'm Doug Hawthorne, President and CEO of Texas Health Resources, with
"The Business of Health Care Report" on 