Physicians: liability key for health system reform

Physicians: liability key for health system reform

Vital Signs

According to a recent survey by Jackson Healthcare, nearly three-quarters, 74 percent, of American physicians report they currently have less control over the way they practice medicine than they did five years ago.

While the reported cause is a combination of insurance and government interference, and the threat of medical malpractice litigation—issues that doctors want health system reform to address—85 percent of physicians say liability concerns are the primary hindrance to practicing medicine as they see fit.

“We found that regardless of a physician’s political affiliation, the respondents attributed the practice of defensive medicine to excessive waste in the health care system,” said Rick Jackson, chairman and CEO of Jackson Healthcare.

Queried about improving health care, the No. 1 element physicians felt needed to be included in any health system reform legislation is tort reform. Fixing the liability system was viewed as critical by 92 percent of the physicians Jackson interviewed.

Other elements physicians consider key for effective health system reform include:

• Reforming the insurance system to eliminate pre-existing condition refusals and assure portability (78 percent).
• Allowing professional, trade and industry associations to provide health care insurance to member groups (67 percent).
• Permitting individuals to opt-out of Medicare or their employer-sponsored plan and providing credits for them to purchase a plan on the individual market (61 percent).
• Creating an insurance exchange that provides competition to health insurance plans (54 percent).

Of the 17 health care reform elements offered to respondents, 32 percent of physicians chose a public option, ranking it 11th, while a single payer insurance system ranked 14th, with 22 percent selecting it.

“What’s interesting is that the majority of physicians surveyed are clearly in favor of health care reform,” said Jackson.

The findings come from a web-based survey of 1,978 physicians spanning all 50 states and all major medical and surgical specialties.

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Adventist Midwest Health’s public relations team has won three Pinnacle Awards from the Illinois Society for Healthcare Marketing and Public Relations (ISHMPR). These awards are the highest honors bestowed by ISHMPR, an affiliate of the Illinois Hospital Association and the state’s largest organization dedicated to the advancement of health care marketing and communications professionals.

The Adventist team, consisting of regional manager Julie Busch and senior public relations specialist Lisa Parro, was recognized with the following awards:

• Award of Excellence, Writing, “The Gift of Sound,” a three-part front-page weekly series published in Suburban Life newspaper.

• Award of Merit, Writing, “Midnight Calm,” a Sunday front-page centerpiece of the April 26 Chicago Tribune.

• Award of Merit, Intranet design, “AMHemployee.com,” Adventist Midwest Health’s employee Web site. Sharing in the award was John Ruhl, associate vice president of marketing.

Nearly 40 hospitals and health care systems from across the state submitted 125 entries in 25 project categories. Entries are judged on their own merit in accordance with established criteria for project planning, implementation and overall results.

Adventist Midwest Health includes Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital, Adventist GlenOaks Hospital, Adventist Hinsdale Hospital and Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital. The public relations team is based in Bolingbrook.

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Evidence is strong and growing that chemical exposures contribute significantly to the rise in many chronic diseases, according to a new report “The Health Case for Reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act,” which synthesizing over tens of thousands of peer-reviewed studies conducted over the last 30 years. The report found Americans would be healthier if exposure to toxic chemicals was reduced, and has the potential to save $5 billion in health care costs due to a decrease in chronic diseases.

“As we debate the rising costs of health care and its reform, today’s report vividly illustrates the opportunity to prevent disease and reduce health care costs by overhauling federal chemical policy,” said Kate Lehman, an associate with the non-profit consumer group Illinois PIRG.

“The Health Case” documents the enormous health care costs of treating cancer, learning and developmental disabilities, asthma and other diseases and conditions linked to chemical exposure, according to recent studies.

It shows that if a new health-based legislative framework to ensure the safety of chemicals yields even a 0.1 percent decrease in the incidence of chronic diseases—a very conservative estimate—direct U.S. expenditures on health care would be reduced by $5 billion per year and more than $200 million for the state of Illinois.

Congress passed the current Toxic Substance Control Act in 1976 and it has remained virtually untouched since. Leukemia and other childhood cancers have increased by more than 20 percent since 1975. A woman’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is now one in eight, up from one in 10 in 1973.

Infertility affected 40 percent more women in 2002 than in 1982. The once-rare birth defect of undescended testicles in baby boys increased 200 percent between 1970 and 1993. Since the early 1990s, reported cases of autism spectrum disorder have increased tenfold.

“The Health Case” concludes in simplest terms that “real TSCA reform will lead to more healthy babies, fewer women with breast cancer, a return toward normal fertility patterns and lower numbers of people with Alzheimer’s disease. This is the promise of TSCA reform,” said Lehman.

The full report, as well as state-based economic information, is available at www.saferchemicals.org.

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Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital’s medical director of pediatric rehabilitation, Mary Keen, M.D., has been named one of Chicago’s top doctors by “Chicago” magazine. Dr. Keen is active in research and education at Wheaton-based Marianjoy, focusing much of her work with children who have experienced a congenital birth defect, traumatic brain injury, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, birth brachial palsies, autism, muscular dystrophy and related disorders.

“Vital Signs” is one of the newest industry columns in The Business Ledger, focusing on the health care industry. Send your news to vitalsigns@thebusinessledger.com.

Posted on Wednesday, February 03, 2010 (Archive on Wednesday, February 10, 2010)
Posted by jstoltz Contributed by jstoltz

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