Changing Culture of Medicine

by Aurametrix

Healthcare is the largest service industry in the world. Its old ways don't work anymore.
One of the reasons is that medical profession is seen increasingly in financial terms. Can you separate the businessman from the doctor? Not in American Medicine, says Kevin Pho, MD, author of the web's leading physician blog.

We need to change the way health care is envisioned, organized and delivered. We need creative approaches to building novel business models, and "disruptive technologies" to shake up the current system.

The current model motivates doctors to think about diagnostic tests based on available technologies and profit, not the need. They will, indeed, order a heart-stress test when the nuclear camera is in the next room, diagnose and treat harmless cancers, and be under financial pressure to see as many patients as possible.

The reform should create a different culture among health care professionals. Solutions include retail clinics that let people pay cash for low-end services and care, new primary care models such as Qliance, MDVIP, QuickHealth, and 1Life, clinics staffed largely by non-physicians, divorcing of physician payments from volume of services, more electronic encounters between doctors and patients and more automation.

Aurametrix works on automatic solutions beyond electronic medical records, for a healthier world.