|
|
Comparative goals..
Thursday, February 12, 2009
The economic recovery package includes $1.1 billion for "comparative effectiveness" research, a comparatively small amount of money in a very big bill, but it's getting a lot of scrutiny and attention, as Victoria Colliver in the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The attack against comparative effectiveness ranges from anti-health reform hack Elizabeth McCaughey to drug and device manufacturers. The unfair attack is that such research is "rationing." Since when is getting better information on cost and quality a bad thing? As the links above indicate, a lot has been written on this subject already, but I think as consumer advocates we have a particular focus on this issue. As consumer advocates, we have a long and proud history of working to make sure that patients get the care they need. For example, we sponsored the HMO Patients' Bill of Rights, which provides for independent medical review of insurers' decisions to deny such care. At the same time, we are not for allowing drug and device manufacturers to sell anything they want at any price. There is a role for steering patients to the most appropriate, most effective medications and treatments, based on the most relevant research. Drug and device companies may attempt to use the language of consumer advocates, but their interest is profoundly anti-consumer. We need more transparency and information, not just about the cost and quality of their products, but about their tactics in the coming health reform debate. Labels: CostContainment, Drugs, Quality
posted by Anthony Wright |
Permalink |
10:56 PM
a
A Ray of hope on health care...
Friday, October 24, 2008
 As a Yankees fan from the Bronx, it's weird to see the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series, with the second-lowest payroll in baseball, especially given the enormous mismatch between the money the teams spend. In health care, there's also a mismatch between how much we spend, and the results.
Remarkably, a doctor today can get more data on the starting third baseman
on his fantasy baseball team than on the effectiveness of life-and-death medical
procedures. Studies have shown that most health care is not based on clinical
studies of what works best and what does not — be it a test, treatment, drug or
technology. This is why we have fought so hard for better transparency, like in last session's AB2967(Lieber), so we have better data on the cost and quality of the care provided by California doctors and hospitals. Let's be clear: some insurers inappropriately use "evidence-based" arguments to deny needed care and treatments (some treatments haven't had full study, but still work); some policymakers use the lack of correlation between costs and outcomes as an excuse to cut, not recognizing the significant consequences (after all, the As or Rays in the Series is the exception, not the rule.) But there should be no debate that we need much better information about the care we receive, and that we pay for. We'll be back on this issue next season. Labels: CostContainment, Hospitals, Quality, Transparency
posted by Anthony Wright |
Permalink |
8:35 AM
a
Preventing hospital infections...
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Some of the first signature on health bills were made today, on the vital issue of hospital infections... We wrote about them when the Consumers Union RV came to town (unfortunately, the other bills mentioned in that post stalled in the Legislature)... The Governor signed: SB 1058 by Senator Elaine Alquist (D-San Jose) establishes the Medical Facility Infection Control and Prevention Act or “Nile’s Law,” which requires hospitals to develop more comprehensive policies and procedures to improve and ensure effective infection control practices. It also requires the Department of Public Health to establish a health care acquired infection program that will receive reports from hospitals on specified hospital-acquired infection rates. In addition, hospitals would be required to screen certain high-risk patients for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and to provide instructions regarding aftercare and precautions to prevent the spread of the infection to others. SB 158 by Senator Dean Florez (D-Shafter) expands upon the current responsibilities of the existing California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) Healthcare Associated Infections Advisory Committee. The bill requires hospitals and skilled nursing facilities to establish plans to improve patient safety. This bill also contains detailed training requirements for hospital infection control committee chairs, clinicians, and all licensed and non-licensed hospital staff. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that every year two million patients contract a hospital acquired infection while being treated for something else, and almost 100,000 die every year from these infections. Labels: Hospitals, Quality
posted by Anthony Wright |
Permalink |
11:11 PM
a
Webmaster: webmaster@health-access.org
|
|
