Letters to the Editor
The New York Times
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New York, NY 10018
CC: letters@nytimes.com
Dear Editor:
The October 5th article “Surgery Rate Late in Life Surprises Researchers” reported that of the surveyed Medicare patients, a third undergo surgery in their last year of life. Although this study over-generalizes individual situations and may be shallow in analysis, it does highlight an important issue: 5% of patients account for more than half of all healthcare spending.
A flaw in the U.S. healthcare system is our focus on disease treatment at the expense of preventative and palliative care. Many unnecessary procedures are done with the single-minded goal of treating a disease instead of looking into a patient’s overall health. One thing that could really make a difference is if doctors communicated better the costs and benefits of operating when a disease has progressed to advanced stages. Especially in elderly patients, avoiding surgery and/or focusing on palliative care may improve the quality of life late in life. By evaluating the benefits of invasive operations on elderly patients, medical care can stop being “overused and needlessly driving up medical costs.”
Sincerely,
Katerina U
katerinau@berkeley.edu
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/health/research/06medicare.html?_r=1&ref=health
There are calculations that insurance companies and other independent firms do called QALY (Quality Adjusted Life Years), where they take certain procedures and analyze the ratio of the quality of life one can get versus the number of years. If patients were given access to empirical information about their quality of life after one procedure as opposed to another, it would give them a better understanding of their outcomes and treatment options. This in tern would prevent medical care from being "overused and needlessly driving up medical costs."
ReplyDeleteDiana J.
A focus on disease treatment rather than preventative care is a cause of concern in the US. Our US health care system is inefficient and contributes a huge portion of our countries total expenditures. While it might be very difficult to decrease rising health care costs and expenditures, increasing preventative care services might help offset the cost of health care and provide a cost efficient alternative. Investing in preventative care will require a collaboration of health care providers, insurance companies, and facilities. The current health care reform, proposes eliminating cost sharing in Medicare and new private plans for certain preventative services. Not only will this help eliminate barriers to health care but it will contribute to a more comprehensive package and a stronger foundation for health promotion and health maintenance, which in the long run increases health quality and helps reduce costs.
ReplyDeleteRosalina Penaloza
I agree with your comment that most of health care costs are attributed to end-of-life care. The elderly account for a large portion of costs in health care, showing that we should focus on preventative and overall care rather than disease specific intervention and treatments later in life. Physicians and health care providers need to look at the costs and benefits of providing pricey procedures during end-of-life care; however, it is also a difficult process to put a value on a person’s life in order to determine whether the benefits outweigh the costs.
ReplyDeleteIliana Ponce