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Patient-centred health reform : Comments
By Katie Lahey, published 8/3/2010Healthcare: it's not who pays that's important, it's about getting more value and better service.
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There has been a practice for years of accepting the ever-increasing cost of services from the medical industry without question as the medical union, the AMA, promoting the illusion of a caring and responsible union membership with an overriding interest in patient care, one of their regular drum-thumping statements.
Why have so many sold their souls and their practices to the commercial enterprises, in many cases resulting in yet another increase in fees to cover their burgeoning overheads or some such similar reason.
They are now the single most costly segment of medical expenses with which governments through Medicare and Health Funds through refund payments, struggle to be able to meet such costs.
A recent example shows a anaesthetist involved in 14 cataract procedures in one day in one hospital, billing all of the 14 patients almost $1000 each for a simple procedure occupying no more that 15-20 minutes of attention. Is it any wonder the public and the government are being gouged by such actions.
The medical profession, much more a medical industry in 2010, has long since put paid to the old Hippocratic oath, subscribing more to the current day mercenary hypocritical oath.
Look no further for the reason for health costs, currently not patient-centred in any way and never again likely to return to those halcyon days of family 'caring' doctors.