Precept Employee Benefits Blog

Why do we see enhanced functionality and decreasing costs in technology gadgets like laptops, televisions, cell phones and iPods while healthcare only appears to be seeing increased costs with minimal improvements in functionality? Are medical outcomes and treatments improving year over year? Are costs for routine procedures going down? Can you research your doctor or hospital to know their effectiveness? Can I compare the costs of Hospital A against Hospital B? This type of information and analysis is pretty simple to obtain for technology gadgets, why not healthcare?

In recent months there has been a proliferation of “Healthcare Solutions” from various types of politicians regarding our broken healthcare system. Some of these proposals focus on tax breaks, single payer approaches or complex reorganizations of how providers and insurers get paid. I have only uncovered one approach that I believe will have the sweeping reform we need by addressing the lack of transparency in our current healthcare system.

In a recent commentary co-authored by Newt Gingrich and Bob Galvin, M.D., they outlined some of the efforts Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt is employing to fix our current broken system. His solution is built on what he calls the “four cornerstones” – information technology, performance measures, transparency and payment reform.

By utilizing information technology at the physician level, defining common measures for cost and performance evaluation, widely distributing information to consumers and altering the way we pay for care, Secretary Leavitt believes we can make a meaningful change in our healthcare system. Today it is easier to obtain information regarding functions, performance and costs of a television than it is to review your Physicians qualifications, performance record or costs.

Organizations such as Healthgrades, WebMD or Leapfrog are a few that have attempted to make this type of information available. Unfortunately, this information does not come without a cost. In addition, many hospitals and providers are less than thrilled with the concept of a report card on their performance. I find this baffling given the fact that people are willing to pay for quality or performance. This may be a side effect of our current system where all are paid the same regardless of outcomes.

I like the concept being proposed and hope that other lawmakers and politicians will sacrifice their alleged reform proposals and jump on the “four cornerstones train”. Assuming Secretary Leavitt can get the largest purchaser of healthcare, the federal government, on board to leverage its $600 billion dollar budget in moving towards change, we might actually make progress towards real reform.