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Higher co-payments and deductibles have not discouraged Americans from visiting their doctors, according to a new Gallup Poll on healthcare. This poll conducted in November 2004 found that 9 out of 10 Americans visited a doctor at least once since November 2003, about 4 percentage points higher than in 2001. This surveys shows Americans visited a physician an average of 6.3 times during the previous year, about 2 visits more than the average from 2001.
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According to a recent survey of 60 hospitals and health systems by Mellin Consultants, nearly half of the hospitals sought to boost revenue or at least hold steady by improving billing, coding and collections. The graph below shows how respondents answered other questions referable to growing or maintaining revenue.
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National statistics released by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthcare Costs and Utilization Project (HCUP) show that obstetrical procedures lead the list of total procedures performed in 2002, with 1.4 million discharges nationally. This is an increase of 44.3% over 1993, when the study began. The following is a list of the next most frequent procedures based on adjusted patient discharge in 2002, the latest year for which figures were available, and the percentage change over the decade.
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72% of 7,700 respondents to Medical Economics’ continuing survey don’t believe that the best and brightest young people are going into medicine. However, a solid majority are still willing to encourage their sons and daughters to follow in their footsteps. Specialists who were more inclined to think that medicine is still luring the best and brightest were also the most likely to encourage their children to become doctors. Doctors who think medicine is losing the best and brightest were the least likely to support their child’s desire to join the profession. Bellow are the results of the survey by specialty and by question.
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Of the 23,681 physicians entering the residency training programs in 2003, one-fifth were non-US citizens, according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Center for Workforce Studies. The number of non-US citizen international graduates is based on estimates from the American Medical Association.
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Although research has shown uninsured Americans receive more than half of their care through emergency rooms, most don’t identify hospitals as a safety-net provider according to a study by the Center for Studying Health System Change. Among those who were aware of safety-net providers in their community, only 8.3% cited a hospital ER, far fewer than those who cited a clinic or doctor’s office, the national survey of 46,600 uninsured found.
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Just how financially wasteful is unnecessary administrative complexity for a typical physician practice? The Group Practice Research Network (GPRN) recently surveyed 94 practices to determine real outlays and found that unnecessary administrative complexity costs a 10-physician practice $247,594 per year in physician and staff labor. That is calculated from 7,872 hours in a 10-physician practice per year, or 151 hours per week – the equivalent of almost 4 staff positions. Shown here are the costs in dollars and cents.
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Healthcare spending among the non-institutionalized population increased by $314B (5.5% per year) between 1987 and 2000. Between 43% and 61% of the total nominal change in spending between 1987 and 2000 was attributable to the 15 most costly conditions. Most of this increased cost was concentrated in the 5 most expensive conditions – heart disease, pulmonary conditions, mental disorders, cancer and hypertension – which accounted for approximately 31% of the overall change in spending between 1987 and 2000. For several medical conditions, the rise in treated disease prevalence was a key factor accounting for the rise in spending. It accounted for 59% of the increased spending on mental disorders and figured highly in the rise of spending on cerebrovascular disease (stroke and cerebral ischemia 60%), pulmonary conditions (42%), and diabetes (50%). In 8 of the top 15 conditions, a rise in the cost per treated case, not rising numbers of cases treated, accounted for most of the growth in spending. For instance, the treated prevalence of heart disease remained constant between 1987 and 2000. Thus, a rise in the cost per treated heart disease case accounted for nearly 70% of the rise in medical care spending between 1987 and 2000. Finally, population growth also contributed to the rise in spending by medical condition. It accounted for about 19% to 35% of the increase in condition-specific spending across the top fifteen medical conditions. Thus, demographic factors, in addition to factors such as changes in medical technology and treatment patterns have a large impact on nominal spending over time.
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The following question was posted on the Riner Group Website for the month of December 2004. “Does the lack of a regular source of a healthcare provider or health insurance for an individual increase the likelihood of an emergency room visit?” Many people feel that emergency room (ER) activity is a function of lack of insurance or regular physician office visits. In a recent study by Ellen J. Weber, MD et al, in the Annals of Emergency Medicine dated October 2004, an estimated 45.3 million adults accounted for 79.6 million ER visits in the previous year; 83.1% of those visitors identified a usual source of healthcare other than an ER. Persons with poor physical health status made up 48.4% of the visits. Adults without a usual source of care were less likely to have had an ER visit than those whose usual source of care was a private physician. Uninsured individuals were no more likely to have an ER visit than insured individuals. Poor physical health, poor mental health, five or more outpatient visits during the year and changes in insurance coverage or usual source of care during the year were more likely to have an ER visit. Enrollment in a health maintenance organization (HMO) and satisfaction with one’s physician were not independently associated with ER usage.
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Dr. Genovese, our newest consultant, joins The Riner Group, Inc. from Michigan Heart and Vascular Institute, St. Joseph Mercy Health System in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he served as Co-Chair and Medical Director.
He brings with him 25 years of knowledge and experience in private practice and hospital administration. He has served as managing partner of a large cardiology practice, held leadership positions in an independent physician association and a physician-hospital organization, served on the founding board of a multi-system integrated delivery system, and has directed numerous physician leadership education programs. Dr. Genovese completed undergraduate and medical studies at Georgetown University, interned at Boston University Hospital, completed his residency and cardiovascular fellowship training at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, and received a Master of Health Services Administration degree from the University of Michigan. We welcome his arrival to work with our firm and are sure our clients will find Dr. Genovese an asset to them and their projects.
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5811 Pelican Bay Blvd, Suite. 210 |
Naples, FL 34108 |
314.727.7098 |
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Copyright - The Riner Group, 2010 |
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