Healthcare costs rise due to fee-for-service model incentivizing unnecessary treatments.
Patients' tendency to request excessive care is driven by misconception of better outcomes.
Deep dives
The Serpent Turf Conundrum in Dining Out
When dining out and not footing the bill, people tend to choose more expensive dishes, setting a pattern of ordering extravagantly when the cost is not their own. This behavior, illustrated by a scenario in 'The Office' show, reveals how one's decisions shift based on who is covering the expenses, leading to potential strain on the host if everyone at the table follows suit.
The Impact of Individual Choices on Healthcare Costs
In healthcare, the practice of expecting more treatments and services when not directly responsible for payment creates a dynamic where patients, doctors, and insurers push for increased care, often beyond what is necessary. This preference for more actions stems from a misconception that excessive procedures equate to better outcomes, contributing to inflated healthcare costs and adverse consequences for all involved.
The Fee-for-Service System in Healthcare
The fee-for-service model incentivizes healthcare providers to focus on offering more services rather than prioritizing patient outcomes. This results in unnecessary treatments, limited prevention efforts, and a preference for high-cost procedures over holistic care. The system's emphasis on billing and services provided has led to challenges in improving overall health outcomes in the United States.
Addressing Medical Mistakes and System Concerns
Medical mistakes, exacerbated by the fee-for-service approach, highlight the need for a shift towards holistic patient care and prevention strategies. The current healthcare system's focus on treatments and revenue generation instead of patient well-being has led to high error rates, reduced doctor-patient time, and increased burnout among healthcare professionals. By reimagining care delivery and payment structures, like the subscription model adopted by innovative practitioners, healthcare systems can prioritize patient health and efficiency.
The United States spends trillions of dollars on healthcare every year, but our outcomes are worse than those of other countries that spend less money. Why? Physician and healthcare executive Vivian Lee explains the psychological and economic incentives embedded in the American model of medicine, and makes the case for a different way forward.
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