I/T innovations have certainly been impactful-think of a world without EDI, CPOE, and remote rounds to name but a few significant improvements.
A quote from a former physician colleague comes to mind when asked by a Board Member what benefit the health system was receiving after significant investments had been made in diagnostic imaging technology over ten + years. The response, "well...we don't do exploratory surgeries anymore" :) Made me laugh but it also made me consider the value embedded in that statement. Infections reduced, complications minimized, lives certainly saved.
The level of innovation over the last twenty-five years is remarkable. We are tend to take it for granted. Innovation seems to progress glacially when you're living it.
Frank Poggio - 7 months ago
Technology (Medical or Information) have not reduced healthcare costs one dime over 50 years.. However they have made big strides in quality. One example is the traditional Xray machine. I remember back in the 70s when they came out with CAT scanners. Cost $500k+ and they were going to replace all those clunky, costly Xray machines. There are still plenty of old and new Xray machines in use. But CAT scanning is better quality. Same for MRIs and multi-test chemistry analyzers,
Remember the government spent $39 Billion on the MU program and how much has that reduced the cost of health care.?
History has shown that capital expenditures in the delivery of health care has always been additive to total costs. Preventive medicine falls under the same indictment. The more tests we do the more medical problems we find and the more medical care we need to deliver. I am afraid that our penchant on longevity is a rabbit hole of never ending expense. Which is why today we spend some 20% of our GDP on healthcare today, and we spent 'only' 7% back in 1970.
To reduce "costs" someone along the way will have to be cut out of the pie and/or take less and I don't see that happening within healthcare.
I/T innovations have certainly been impactful-think of a world without EDI, CPOE, and remote rounds to name but a few significant improvements.
A quote from a former physician colleague comes to mind when asked by a Board Member what benefit the health system was receiving after significant investments had been made in diagnostic imaging technology over ten + years. The response, "well...we don't do exploratory surgeries anymore" :) Made me laugh but it also made me consider the value embedded in that statement. Infections reduced, complications minimized, lives certainly saved.
The level of innovation over the last twenty-five years is remarkable. We are tend to take it for granted. Innovation seems to progress glacially when you're living it.
Technology (Medical or Information) have not reduced healthcare costs one dime over 50 years.. However they have made big strides in quality. One example is the traditional Xray machine. I remember back in the 70s when they came out with CAT scanners. Cost $500k+ and they were going to replace all those clunky, costly Xray machines. There are still plenty of old and new Xray machines in use. But CAT scanning is better quality. Same for MRIs and multi-test chemistry analyzers,
Remember the government spent $39 Billion on the MU program and how much has that reduced the cost of health care.?
History has shown that capital expenditures in the delivery of health care has always been additive to total costs. Preventive medicine falls under the same indictment. The more tests we do the more medical problems we find and the more medical care we need to deliver. I am afraid that our penchant on longevity is a rabbit hole of never ending expense. Which is why today we spend some 20% of our GDP on healthcare today, and we spent 'only' 7% back in 1970.