Comments on: Measuring Quality in Primary Care http://brainblogger.com/2010/02/17/measuring-quality-in-primary-care/ Topics from multidimensional biopsychosocial perspectives Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:44:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Bloghttp://brainblogger.com/2010/02/17/measuring-quality-in-primary-care/#comment-598105 FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:02:30 +0000 http://brainblogger.com/?p=3632#comment-598105 <strong>Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog Carnival 143...</strong>Monday is Blog Carnivals Day. A Blog Carnival is basically a collection of articles or blog posts, all relating to a similar subject, that are gathered together for your viewing pleasure. You can quickly and conveniently see a list of Article Titles an... Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog Carnival 143…

Monday is Blog Carnivals Day. A Blog Carnival is basically a collection of articles or blog posts, all relating to a similar subject, that are gathered together for your viewing pleasure. You can quickly and conveniently see a list of Article Titles an…

]]> By: Bronnie Thompsonhttp://brainblogger.com/2010/02/17/measuring-quality-in-primary-care/#comment-598031 Bronnie Thompson Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:59:22 +0000 http://brainblogger.com/?p=3632#comment-598031 My two cents is quite different from Steven. Unfortunately, a market approach to health care doesn't take into account that the major users of health services are often those with the least resource. Sadly I think trying to treat health care as just another commodity misses the point - people who need health care are often uninformed, popularity of a provider isn't a measure of effectiveness, and often the best health outcomes are not simply what the health provider does, but much more about what the patient does. Maybe the way we approach providing health services is more about the values that a community espouses (and the value that is placed on supporting those who are in the most vulnerable position) than on the economic equations that purportedly make the world go round. BTW in NZ we have a mixture of for-profit and not-for-profit, public funding (from tax) and private funding (personal funds + health insurance). Most health practices are small - maybe 10 medics, and most are even smaller - 2 or 3. There is still a degree of 'competition' - patients can choose their doctor and choose to move if they're unhappy with their treatment. Not sure if this does anything to improve health care provision - 'hard truths', or best practice advice (eg stay at work and move to manage your acute low back pain) can be watered down in case the patient decides to change provider. My two cents is quite different from Steven. Unfortunately, a market approach to health care doesn’t take into account that the major users of health services are often those with the least resource. Sadly I think trying to treat health care as just another commodity misses the point – people who need health care are often uninformed, popularity of a provider isn’t a measure of effectiveness, and often the best health outcomes are not simply what the health provider does, but much more about what the patient does.
Maybe the way we approach providing health services is more about the values that a community espouses (and the value that is placed on supporting those who are in the most vulnerable position) than on the economic equations that purportedly make the world go round.
BTW in NZ we have a mixture of for-profit and not-for-profit, public funding (from tax) and private funding (personal funds + health insurance). Most health practices are small – maybe 10 medics, and most are even smaller – 2 or 3. There is still a degree of ‘competition’ – patients can choose their doctor and choose to move if they’re unhappy with their treatment. Not sure if this does anything to improve health care provision – ‘hard truths’, or best practice advice (eg stay at work and move to manage your acute low back pain) can be watered down in case the patient decides to change provider.

]]> By: Steven | The Emotion Machinehttp://brainblogger.com/2010/02/17/measuring-quality-in-primary-care/#comment-598024 Steven | The Emotion Machine Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:32:39 +0000 http://brainblogger.com/?p=3632#comment-598024 We wouldn't have to worry about constructing some elaborate formula for how doctors should be paid if we just left the industry in the hands of the market. Mises and Hayek have argued since the late 1800s on how a price system works in any industry. Doctors will be paid based on the quality of their care, the surrounding competition, and what patients are able and willing to pay. Obviously the price structure is much more complex than that (medical facilities need to focus in on costs of inputs before choosing profitable prices), and the market will always fluctuate depending on differences in supply and demand. I think we need to free up the markets first if we want a healthcare system that works (this also means lessening the burden of needing insurance to receive any kind of healthcare - but that is a whole other story).Anyway, thanks for the information. There is a lot of work that needs to be done, but we can't forget the basics of econ 101 when determining how to allocate resources, labor, and how a price system should emerge. Just my two cents. We wouldn’t have to worry about constructing some elaborate formula for how doctors should be paid if we just left the industry in the hands of the market. Mises and Hayek have argued since the late 1800s on how a price system works in any industry. Doctors will be paid based on the quality of their care, the surrounding competition, and what patients are able and willing to pay. Obviously the price structure is much more complex than that (medical facilities need to focus in on costs of inputs before choosing profitable prices), and the market will always fluctuate depending on differences in supply and demand. I think we need to free up the markets first if we want a healthcare system that works (this also means lessening the burden of needing insurance to receive any kind of healthcare – but that is a whole other story).

Anyway, thanks for the information. There is a lot of work that needs to be done, but we can’t forget the basics of econ 101 when determining how to allocate resources, labor, and how a price system should emerge. Just my two cents.

]]>