Stimulus funds lag health woes - Portland Business Journal:

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That’s the view of the eight-member panel of industry and medicakl experts who were invited by the Southj Florida Business Journal to share their viewx of whatthe $787 billion federal stimulus package means to the health care sector. What emerged was a broad discussionm of how stimulus legislation is just one pieced of change needed in an industru that has run financially amok due to an overreliance on specialists, shortfalls in information technologg and patients who are undereducated.
The Congressional Budgett Office has projected that total national spending on health care coulrd hit 48 percent of gross domestic product by 2050 if left To solve this problek will takemore money, in the short term. The Obama administration’s $59 billionb for health care stimulus spendingyincludes $19 billion for electronic health care records. Starting in 2011, doctor s who can show meaningfuk use of electronic medical records will get incentives and thosewho don’t will get declining Medicare payments. But, the old-fashioned general practitioneer may also have abig role.
Linda Quick, president of the , said healthu care reform legislation that coincides with the stimulus callse for individuals to have a home location or a primartycare provider. She said that allows for “ community location close to home and getting more done in a actually high clinicaltechnology setting.” That, in turn, will also translate into a less costlyt location, the panelists said. Rachel Sapoznik, CEO of , “The reason I believe in the last 25 yeards of seeing health care costs rise dramaticalluy is we have moved away from the primarhy care physician knowing the patienyto specialists.
” Patients go from specialist to specialist to get each ailmentf treated, but an overview of their conditiobn and family history is lacking. George Foyo, executive VP and chieft administrative officerat , said: “Piggybacking on primaru care is absolutely right. All these specialtie s are adding thousands and thousands of One problem is that specialists tend to overdo tests because they are so worried about legal liability he said. Dr. Tony Prieto, a family practitionetr and president of the Broward CounttyMedical Association, said reimbursement issues for tests done in his office also frustrate him.
A hospital might get $2,000 for a test from but he can onlyget “I don’t think it’s anything that’s going to work unless we use some common sense,” he Foyo said primary care physicians historicall put an emphasis on healtuh prevention efforts, but the lack of it these days is contributing to an epidemi of diabetes and heart issues. Baptist Health, which is well known for hospitals in Kendalland Homestead, is pushing forwarde with outpatient centers – and even venturinv into Broward County. One reason is emergency roomsaare full, and providing care there is more costlu than at an outpatient center.
“Rathed than have patients cometo us, the hospitalas are going out to them,” Foyo said. Florida’ss 51 nonprofit community health centers aregettinf $28 million in competitive grants undetr the stimulus legislation, which will also keep patients out of expensivs hospital settings for treatment. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi highlighted that during an April visity to a community health centere in Hollywood that willget $1.
5 million to open a satellitwe health center in West One of the advantagess for these types of centerds is that they are funded with the assumption that their doorsx will be open to all who come, which is importanrt because of the number of uninsured South including undocumented foreigners, Quick Dr. Welby, meet Bill Gates Mark administrative partner at the law firm of in said electronic medicalrecords (EMR) fall under the categor y of “shovel-ready” projects in the world of stimulus meaning the technology exists and can be adopted rapidly to put money in the