Would you agree or disagree with the following statement The

Would you agree or disagree with the following statement, “The single most important health policy choice in the United States over the past four decades has nothing to do with the Department of Health and Human Services, but rather with the Internal Revenue Service.” What evidence can you cite to support your position?

Solution

Yes, I agree with the statement.

Rita F. Redberg, director of Women\'s Cardiovascular Services at the University of California, San Francisco, expressed that a marked proliferation in new diagnostic and treatment technologies has resulted in a precipitous increase in healthcare costs. Moreover, limited integration in the design of systems for health information technology (HIT) and technologies such as imaging systems has allowed their misuse and overuse, thus impeding their ability to improve healthcare quality. Redberg surveyed the current landscape of diagnostic and treatment technologies available for heart disease and offered suggestions for systemically evaluating and using these technologies in ways that improve care and reduce costs. She proposed that more systematic data collection and the development of more prospective registries would lead to better-informed decisions in health care.

Ralph W. Muller highlighted projects on patient registration, billing, and revenue cycle management, and he discussed how each was transformed in order to be more effective. He also described a project that examined how UPHS inpatient and outpatient operations were improved through a combination of systems analysis, reporting systems, incentive alignment, and continuous change management. He also highlighted elements of a methodology for conceptualizing change in the face of entrenched health cultures. He offered specific lessons learned about using data and analysis to identify opportunities and motivate change, redesign workflows and restructure roles, integrate information technology, establish goals and monitor performance, and create meaningful incentives.