American medicine is the finest in the world. Whether it’s judged by
the number of new medicines we discover, or the capabilities of the
latest healthcare technologies we develop, or the varieties of
innovative treatments and techniques we perfect, American medicine is
the best in the world.
However, the development and application of medicines, technology, and
treatments are just two components of our complex healthcare system.
Another equally important component involves ensuring that the
citizens of our country have access to and can afford the best
American medicine has to offer. This is the area in which our
healthcare system is beginning to fail on many levels.
The extent of this system-wide failure is self-evident. Why then are
so few people talking seriously about what is shaping up to be the
greatest domestic political issue of our time? How will we maintain
our accustomed standards of medical excellence if we are not prepared
to seriously address this growing threat that is eroding the
foundation of America’s healthcare delivery system?
As an entrepreneur, I have spent my entire career in healthcare
information publishing, which has allowed me to gain an insider’s
perspective on the groundbreaking medical technologies that are having
such a profound impact on so many patients’ lives. It has been an
amazing experience to observe newly discovered drugs travel the
pipeline from pharmaceutical research labs through the FDA and into
our physicians’ offices, where they are used to improve and even save
the lives of countless patients. Medical science has provided us
untold benefits, and also offers the promise of even greater
breakthroughs to come.
But a great and looming crisis threatens it all:
Retiring baby boomers’ demand for healthcare, on top of exploding cost
increases, will weaken the delivery system and exacerbate healthcare
worker shortages
Indigent care, reimbursement issues, and operational costs are putting
unbearable pressure on many hospital systems
The lack of effective federal Medical Liability Reform continues to
undermine the viability of the medical practitioner and threatens the
growth of desperately needed healthcare jobs
Government increasingly sets prices for healthcare products and
services through massive entitlement spending that is eliminating the
competitive, free market from healthcare
These and other ominous developments pose a grave threat to American
medicine and the economy of our nation; consider that by the year
2014, a short eight years from now, nearly 19 percent of GDP – a
staggering $3.6 trillion dollars – will be consumed by healthcare
expenditures. It is critical that we address these systemic problems
at their roots; short-term fixes, like patches in a New Orleans levee,
ultimately only delay the day of reckoning and pass the problem on to
future generations.
As time is of the essence, I encourage you to share with me your
greatest concerns regarding the challenges facing our healthcare
delivery system by E-mailing me at mikehennessy@mdng.com. Together, we
can begin a dialogue, and through our efforts discover and nurture new
ideas for change, enabling many voices to speak as one as we pursue a
solution.
The writer is chairman and CEO of Intellisphere, a medical
publications company based at the Princeton Meadows Office Center.
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