Tuesday, July 20, 2004

Health care paper trail is costly route
Story in USA Today - " Technology has cut costs and increased productivity in industry after industry. But health care, a $1.6 trillion beast that wallops business and consumer pocket books more and more, still largely runs on paper. Visits to new doctors require patients to fill out forms for the same old information. Getting test results from one office to another can take days. That often leads to duplicate tests, excess costs and poor care. Based on tech's impact on other industries, John Chambers, CEO of Internet titan Cisco Systems, says technology could cut health care costs by at least 25% — and improve care. ... In the past 18 months, lawmakers introduced at least five bills pushing health care tech ideas."  
  

Pros and Cons: Expanding Coverage for Mental health (New York)
Article in City Limits - "When the New York State Office of Mental Health notified mental health agencies that funding for many of their vocational and rehabilitation programs would soon be replaced with Medicaid, it seemed like good news. In addition to saving the city and state thousands of dollars, agency officials say, the switch will allow them to centralize their programs, giving their consumers easier access to more comprehensive treatment. But, as local nonprofits begin the process of converting, some are finding just the opposite: programs and clients could suffer under Medicaid’s stricter standards. The new program, known as PROS (Personalized Recovery Oriented Services) requires each agency to design a single treatment plan coordinated between different providers..."  
  

Hatch Wants Single Agency To Handle Mental Health Services (Minnesota)
Brief WCCO story - "Attorney General Mike Hatch on Monday called for a single state entity to coordinate, fund and regulate mental health services, which he contended are hard to come by and carry a greater public cost if those illnesses go untreated. Hatch's idea is purely conceptual at this point. It is one of four broad recommendations he makes in a report he will send to hospital administrators, insurers and other leaders in the health care field in hopes that it will breathe new life into proposals for change. .."