Each Patient Counts: Massachusetts Medical Society Weblog

Preventive Care Works!

Dr. Sean Palfrey, a pediatrician at the Boston Medical Center and an active member of the MMS, published a great entry today on WBUR's "Commonhealth." He said that a greater investment in preventive care for children will not only make people healthier, but help control health care costs.

Here's the central argument:

"In child health, prevention is the cornerstone. Prevention is cheaper than treatment of illness, healthier children grow up to be healthier adults, and health care for children is much cheaper than health care for adults. Health care for children is an investment; health care for adults is often payment for services long overdue."

Well said!

Read the blog.

2007 State of the State of Health Care: Conference Summary

Saying that Massachusetts is the “canary in the coal mine,” Harvard School of Public Health Professor Robert Blendon said the rest of the nation is carefully watching whether Massachusetts can successfully implement health care reform. About 250 people attended the conference.

Blendon was one of four speakers at the MMS’ State of the State of Health Care Conferences who addressed the issue of rising health care costs. Blendon said that while most Massachusetts residents support the principle of universal coverage, they are split over how to pay for it.

Stephen Schroeder, M.D., of the University of California at San Francisco, said the incentives in fee-for-service reimbursement are a “major reason why heath care costs so much.” Schroeder identified three approaches to controlling costs: Reducing the prevalance of  fee-for-service, increasing chronic care management, and improving care at the end of life. “We don’t know our patients’ wishes,” he said. “Our last moments with our parents are grisly, when they shouldn’t be.”

Michael Gusmano, Ph.D., of Columbia University, shared research comparing health access and outcomes in New York, London, and Paris, systems which he said display with many more similarities than differences.

Maggie Mahar, Ph.D. journalist and author of “Money-Driven Health Care,” cautioned that consumer-driven health care tends to drive up costs and isn’t well-equipped to monitor quality. “Consumers tend to believe that more is always better and newest is best,” she said. She advocated for a “patient-centered model” where the physician and the patient work closely together, and the physician has the main responsibility for determining quality. “Didn’t we learn anything from the ‘90s?” she asked. “Just as most people aren’t cut out to be their own investor, most people are not cut out to be their own health care expert.”

Mahar subsequently wrote about the conference and the discussion of the health reform law in iHealthbeat. "I’m much less hopeful than I was two days ago," she says.

MMS President Dale Magee, M.D., provided an overview of the major sectors in today’s health care system in Massachusetts.

Listen to audio excerpts of each presentation
Dale Magee  (Length: 18:04)
Robert Blendon  (Length: 10:35)
Stephen Schroeder  (Length: 10:32)
Michael Gusmano  (Length: 16:19)
Maggie Mahar  (Length: 15:02)

View slides for each presentation (in .pdf format)
Dale Magee
Robert Blendon
Stephen Schroeder
Michael Gusmano
Maggie Mahar