Hospitals: Saving Costs in Order to Make Our Healthcare System More Patient Friendly

There has being a dramatic progress in healthcare overall, but are we having more pluses or minuses do to that? A lot of financing is going into getting new technologies, creating new medicine for patients, and hiring more doctors and nurses. It is great, but are we using our finances wisely? Probably not, the system remains disorganized (lack of beds at the hospitals) is a perfect example of that. What can be done to change that? The next few articles will open a door to how the hospital system is lacking structure and that patients might soon come to receiving care at home. I had a chance to speak with a family member and my friend encountered these problems, when it came to their own family members (lack of resources in their own place of living, meant going to a different town and city to receive treatment). Speaking with relative from USA, also gave me some insight into her view on things.

The article, by Jennifer L. Wiler, MD, MBA, and Nir J. Harish, MD, FAAE gives us an an overview as to how much hospitals have changed over the years.  From small and humble “almshouses” to large, profitable and technology driven institutions. What does it mean? It was noted, that with the changes in technology, and the growth of digital and virtual health, together with the “movement of higher-acuity care into the outpatient environment” we will shift from a large healthcare system to a smaller, more accessible and affordable one. Soon large healthcare institutions will be diminished. Jennifer L. Wiler and Nir. J. Harish make us realize that technology has very much become a part of today’s healthcare system. As they underline: until recently it was hard to coordinate or bring patients in and understand care longitidudinally without EHRs (Electronic Health Records) system. Since doctors needed to rely on using advanced technologies (imaging and lasers) for example, a financial model needed to be in place. This article underlines that healthcare indeed will change over time and soon there will be no need for patients to be inside the 4 walls to receive the care they need. With the technology changing at a fast speed, the rise for mobile health is happening. The authors provide an example of (HaH) program, in which patients are being admitted, but instead of a hospital, at home and connected to a hospital instead – remotely.

Statistics and examples have being also  given for us to see that even with hiring a lot of staff, patients still wait to for beds to be available and for them to receive proper care. As we read the article, the authors show us that even with the hospitals remaining in place, they can receive the same care at home.

Monique Scotti, opens a whole new picture to us on how low our healthcare is in the rankings. “ Canada’s health care system is ranked 9th among 11 of the world’s most affluent countries.” – Global News. Australia, United Kingdom and Netherlands are on the top and due to our healthcare being weak, we are lagging behind. Monique shows us that the countries that spend less come out on top and spending more is not always the best approach. Canada is still doing pretty well (low mortality rate after a heart attack), and we have more patients surviving cancer. Not too much time is wasted on Administrative work. The authors note, that small difference between scores and metrics, can bump the country up or down the list. Canada did jump one spot, but we still have a long way to go.