Healthcare system in the USA may have experienced some significant changes in the recent years, but it still has not solved the problem of wasted resources and efforts. This problem was addressed in various studies; the analyses have shown that billions of dollars are wasted every year (Berwick & Hackbarth, 2012). One of the general problems that was reviewed in many articles and noticed by me quite frequently is poorly organized care delivery.
Sometimes, a treatment itself had not cost much, but because the delivered care was executed inadequately, the patient had to continue his staying at a hospital, and his health status could even worsen. Why do patients have to spend money on their health care if it not executed according to the prescribed rules? Of course, this question is linked to other problems in the health care system; specifically, health care system itself needs to be reformed so that it would not have to experience such losses.
Care coordination is also stated as one of the major problems, and I absolutely agree with this statement. Care coordination is of vital importance (literally) for patients with chronic conditions; if it is not executed correctly, patients will pay not only with their money but with their health, too.
Sometimes even with their life. The health care system needs to track down every violation made during the hospitalization and treatment so that hospitals could estimate the costs of such wasted efforts. However, I am afraid that such means will not necessarily help. They might add even more waste to the health care system, although their initial aim was to reduce it. I believe that only a profound reconstruction of the health care system will help avoid such waste of resources and efforts.
References
Berwick, D. M., & Hackbarth, A. D. (2012). Eliminating waste in US health care. Jama, 307(14), 1513-1516.