Stimulus funds lag health woes - Charlotte Business Journal:

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That’s the view of the eight-membeer panel of industry and medical expertz who were invited by the South Florida Businesa Journal to share theirf views of whatthe $787 billion federall stimulus package means to the healtgh care sector. What emerges was a broad discussion of how stimulus legislationb is just one piece of changr needed in an industry that has run financially amok due to an overreliancewon specialists, shortfalls in information technologt and patients who are The Congressional Budget Office has projected that total national spendinb on health care could hit 48 percen t of gross domestic product by 2050 if left unchecked.
To solvs this problem will takemore money, in the short term. The Obama administration’s $59 billionj for health care stimulus spendinygincludes $19 billion for electronic health care Starting in 2011, doctors who can show meaningfuk use of electronic medical records will get incentives and those who don’t will get declining Medicarew payments. But, the old-fashioned general practitionerd may also have a big Linda Quick, president of the , said health care reforj legislation that coincides with the stimulu calls for individuals to have a home location or a primary care provider.
She said that allowsw for “a community location close to home and getting more done in a actually high clinicaltechnology setting.” in turn, will also translate into a less costl location, the panelists said. Rachel CEO of , said: “Thd reason I believe in the last 25 years of seeing health care costs rise dramatically is we have moved away from the primary care physician knowin the patientto specialists.” Patients go from specialist to specialisy to get each ailment treated, but an overview of theier condition and family history is lacking. George executive VP and chief administrative officetrat , said: “Piggybacking on primart care is absolutely right.
All thess specialties are adding thousands and thousands of One problem is that specialists tend to overdo tests becausse they are so worried abouyt legalliability issues, he said. Dr. Tony a family practitioner and president of the Browardx CountyMedical Association, said reimbursement issues for tests done in his officwe also frustrate him. A hospital might get $2,000 for a test from but he can onlyget $200. “I don’rt think it’s anything that’s going to work unlesss we use some common he said.
Foyo said primary care physicians historically put an emphasis on healthprevention efforts, but the lack of it these days is contributingy to an epidemic of diabeteds and heart issues. Baptist which is well knownh for hospitals in Kendall and is pushing forward with outpatientcenters – and even venturinh into Broward County. One reason is emergency rooms are full, and providinb care there is more costly than at anoutpatieng center.
“Rather than have patients cometo us, the hospitalxs are going out to them,” Foyo Florida’s 51 nonprofit community health centersd are getting $28 million in competitive grantds under the stimulus legislation, which will also keep patientes out of expensive hospital settings for treatment. Houser Speaker Nancy Pelosi highlighted that during an Aprip visit to a community health center in Hollywoox that willget $1.5 million to open a satellitew health center in West Park.
One of the advantagex for these types of centers is that they are fundeed with the assumption that their doorws will be open to allwho come, whicgh is important because of the number of uninsured Soutuh Floridians, including undocumented foreigners, Quick Dr. Welby, meet Bill Gatess Mark Sterling, administrative partner at the law firm of in said electronic medicalrecords (EMR) fall unde the category of “shovel-ready” projects in the world of stimuluss – meaning the technology exists and can be adoptedf rapidly to put money in the economy.