Compliance and the Doctor
It is a well known fact that patients often don’t fill their prescriptions or even take the medicine if they do fill them. That is what makes it so insane to “grade” doctors depending on their patients’ cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar average, etc. In a study involving patients who had a recent heart attack, only half of them took the statin, beta blocker and aspirin recommended. Even better, the medications were given to the pateints for……FREE!!!!!!! Maybe this is a problem with communication? I doubt it as this was a study and they have more time to explain things and educate the participants. Maybe this is a cultural issue? Who knows but to give “quality” grades to doctors that depend on patients’ compliance is like basing teachers’ pay on the tests scores that their students achieve. Who is crazy enough to do that?
We are heading towards “No Patient Left Behind” which will fail miserably.
The program is predicated on the idea that mortality is an avoidable side effect of poor health management. Next they will be basing our quality measures on how long our patients live. Immortality is the ultimate quality!
I love it. Brilliant.
Doug
“No Patient Left Behind”! That is sooo great! I love it! I predict a draft, so all those selfish doctors (and others who drop out of the system) will be compelled to “serve the people” at the fedgov’s direction. Oh, wait…we’re getting there!
What this will likely bring is an even bigger access problem (like the 17% Medicare cut won’t cause a big one already) as noncompliant patients get shown the door.
YEP !
Yep!