This
article, written by Shelley DuBois, outlines possible outcomes that the
Affordable Care Act will have on hospitals. Although hospitals are currently
paid by procedure, the Act is transitioning hospitals into being paid for the
quality of the procedures. Another effect of the Act is that hospitals may be receiving
many more patients, resulting in further overworking of hospital staff. The Act
also penalizes hospitals that perform poorly by reducing reimbursement. The
Affordable Care Act is also providing for ways for doctors to keep in touch
with patients and check on them so as to reduce costly re-admissions.
I
think it’s great that hospitals will be receiving their pay because of the
quality of work rather than the quantity. This should boost the amount of
hospitals with desirable results consistently. I hope that the rise in patient
numbers will not be too much for hospitals to handle so that the quality can effectively
improve in the coming months and years. I’m glad that re-admission fees will be
reduced by the new allowances by the Act because, many times, there is no need
for patients to go back into the hospital to receive the care they need after
the procedure. Overall, I think these will be good effects from the Affordable
Care Act and hope they are executed well.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/20/hospitals-face-whole-new-world-under-health-law/3078353/
This is actually really interesting. The change from being paid per procedure to the quality is a really good idea but the part about increased patients sounds a bit risky. Increasing the amount of patients per a doctor increases the risk of that doctor making a mistake and also further busies already busy staff. But for the most part it sounds like a great idea
ReplyDeleteI, too, think that that is a good way to determine how the hospitals get paid. It will give hospitals even more initiative to do well on their operations (although they should theoretically be doing that already.)
ReplyDelete