For years, physicians have been well aware of an evolving healthcare crisis in this country but now a new wave of reporters and academics have started to write with an increasing sense of urgency about the deficits of the system. A recent article in Forbes talks about the potential benefits of disruptive innovations to make healthcare more affordable by handing off routine care for simple problems such as earaches to retail clinics and keeping the more complex problems in the domain of physicians. I’ve heard similar arguments before. What we must realize is that such a move can fragment care and further weaken the doctor-patient relationship, which is the essence of efficient and meaningful care. I do agree, however, that physicians should use technology and innovative models of care delivery to streamline processes, so that in depth, face-to-face interactions with patients are reserved for complex medical conditions. Sore throats and earaches can be handled by a member of a care team under direct supervision of an attending physician, not retail clinics. We need to preserve continuity of care and promote coordination of care and use of intelligent health IT to streamline processes and reduce the number of ancillary staff.

Some call this, i.e. delivery of continuous, accessible, and coordinated care under the supervision of a personal physician and supported by a robust IT infrastructure, the Medical Home. I call it common sense and the way of the future, as long as we make sure physicians are properly reimbursed for the extra work.

Filed under: Health Policy, Innovation