Primary Care Spring....I like it!

[Guest guest]

Interesting article in Forbes:  

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davechase/2012/04/28/primary-care-spring-unleashed-by-ibm/

Here is the beginning of the article...

" Primary Care Spring " unleashed by IBM

A year ago, the Arab Spring rocked the world. Stateside, a less visible revolution is underway. The revolution could be called the Primary Care Spring. As social media played a role in the Arab Spring, there is a large group of primary care physicians who have rallied around the #FMRevolution hashtag. Perhaps as unlikely as a street vendor catalyzing the Arab Spring, a catalyst for the Primary Care Spring was IBM.

 

Like any revolution, there are many factors at play (not all of them can be addressed in one article). As a doctor would take a medical history, make a diagnosis and then layout a prescription with accompanying risk factors, I will use this same format for what I believe is fueling the revolution.

Medical History of a Sick Healthcare System

Dr. Ted Epperly, the recent past president of the American Academy of Family Physicians describes the shortcomings of our healthcare “system” in his upcoming book “Fractured: America’s Broken Health Care System and What We Must Do to Heal It.” He touches on a similar set of issues to the following:

Under-valuing primary care while consistent data demonstrates the highest ROI for healthcare is primary care. Industry commentators  Klepper, PhD, and C. Kibbe, MD, MBA outline the roots of this in a piece about the playing field being extremely tilted towards sub-specialists in this Kaiser Health News piece.

It was IBM’s study of their $2B spend on healthcare globally that sprung them into action. The findings of their global study was a surprisingly simple formula. More primary care access led to a healthier population which, in turn, led to less money spent. For example, in Denmark, the number of hospitals (and hospital days) has dropped by more than half proving the old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Piecemeal payment for healthcare has led to a “system” that is really a collection of silos. As Dr. Atul Gawande has put it, the system is more about cowboys when it is pit crews that are needed.

In healthcare, it’s as though we are building better firehouses and investing in more firefighting equipment while we do the equivalent of leaving oily rags around, letting kids play with fireworks on dry hillsides, and building structures with one exit. We may have the best “firefighting” tools and talent in the world but we’d be much better off if we prevented those “fires” from starting in the first place.

Sharon McCoy MDRenaissance Family Medicine10 McClintock Court; Irvine, CA  92617PH: (949)387-5504   Fax: (949)281-2197  Toll free phone/fax: 

www.SharonMD.com

[Guest guest]

im in...how do it get to be a part of it...

grace

>

> Interesting article in Forbes:

>

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davechase/2012/04/28/primary-care-spring-unleashed-b\

y-ibm/

> Here is the beginning of the article... " Primary Care Spring " unleashed by

> IBM

>

> A year ago, the Arab Spring rocked the world. Stateside, a less visible

> revolution is underway. The revolution could be called the *Primary Care

> Spring*. As social media played a role in the Arab Spring, there is a large

> group of primary care physicians who have rallied around the #FMRevolution

> hashtag. Perhaps as unlikely as a street vendor catalyzing the Arab Spring,

> a catalyst for the Primary Care Spring was

> IBM<http://www.forbes.com/companies/ibm/>

> .

>

> <

>

>

>

> Like any revolution, there are many factors at play (not all of them can be

> addressed in one article). As a doctor would take a medical history, make a

> diagnosis and then layout a prescription with accompanying risk factors, I

> will use this same format for what I believe is fueling the revolution.

>

>

> *Medical History of a Sick Healthcare System*

>

> Dr. Ted Epperly, the recent past president of the American Academy of

> Family Physicians describes the shortcomings of our healthcare " system " in

> his upcoming book " Fractured: America's Broken Health Care System and What

> We Must Do to Heal

> It<http://www.amazon.com/Fractured-Ted-Epperly/dp/0982758839>. "

> He touches on a similar set of issues to the following:

>

> - Under-valuing primary care while consistent data demonstrates the

> highest ROI for healthcare is primary care. Industry commentators

> <http://blogs.forbes.com/briancapozzi/> Klepper,

> PhD, and C. Kibbe, MD, MBA outline the roots of this in a piece about

> the playing field being extremely tilted towards sub-specialists in

> this Kaiser

> Health News

piece<http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Columns/2011/January/012111kepplerkibbe.as\

px>

> .

> - It was IBM's study of their $2B spend on healthcare globally that

> sprung them into action. The findings of their global study was a

> surprisingly simple formula. More primary care access led to a healthier

> population which, in turn, led to less money spent. For example, in

> Denmark, the number of hospitals (and hospital days) has dropped by more

> than half proving the old adage " an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of

> cure. "

> - Piecemeal payment for healthcare has led to a " system " that is really

> a collection of silos. As Dr. Atul Gawande has put it, the system is more

> about cowboys when it is pit crews that are

>

needed<http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/05/atul-gawande-harva\

rd-medical-school-commencement-address.html>

> .

>

> In healthcare, it's as though we are building better firehouses and

> investing in more firefighting equipment while we do the equivalent of

> leaving oily rags around, letting kids play with fireworks on dry

> hillsides, and building structures with one exit. We may have the best

> " firefighting " tools and talent in the world but we'd be much better off if

> we prevented those " fires " from starting in the first place.

>

>

> Sharon McCoy MD

> Renaissance Family Medicine

> 10 McClintock Court; Irvine, CA 92617

> PH: (949)387-5504 Fax: (949)281-2197 Toll free phone/fax:

> www.SharonMD.com

>