I admire Newt Gingrich’s oratorical style. He, more than most politicians, presents ideas. Today he has an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal – A Growth Vision for Health Reform He argues that our current system enhances innovation, and that perhaps we should not constrain the growth of health care spending. His argument is laudable and well stated with compelling anecdotes.
Euclid taught me that without assumptions there is no proof. Therefore, in any argument, examine the assumptions. – E. T. Bell
If one does not first build a strong foundation, then the building will fall. Our health care system does not have a strong foundation. We do not provide enough primary care. Our health care too often focuses on subspecialization, but ignores the key principles of care coordination, managing and balancing complexity, and treating the patient rather than the disease.
So will Newt writes an interesting editorial, he misses the key point. Most patients do not require expensive technology, rather they require a physician who knows them and who can address all their problems. We need innovation, but we need them in addition to excellent primary care. Improving primary care gives us more bang for the buck.
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From your post: “Most patients do not require expensive technology…” I would go further. Many patients are harmed by technology. The public and we physicians are lured by technomedicine’s seductive siren song. Much of this is medically unnecessary, costs $$$ and exposes patients to risks of complications. You mentioned Euclid, so I’ll refer to Homer. Perhaps, like Ulysses, we physicians should strap ourselves to the mast and order our staffs to ignore our cries when we scream out orders for CAT scans, consultations, stress tests, etc. http://www.MDWhistleblower.blogspot.com