Featured blog post: The paradox of specialty hospitals
Hospitalist Leadership Connection, May 12, 2009
Recent conflicts between specialty and general hospitals is an issue that gets to the heart of the schizophrenic manner in which America finances hospital care, but it is not something that many hospitalists have thought about. It does have a bearing on hospitalist practice; bear with me while I explain the issue.
Many years ago, hospitals charged for services based on the actual number of days patients spent in the hospital, plus any drugs and supplies used. This system allowed hospitals to grow and prosper, but it provided no stimulus for reducing costs.
In 1983, the federal government introduced its prospective payment system for Medicare hospital benefits. The idea was to create a global budget for each hospital based on the types of patients treated and local operating costs. The concept was to create an ideal payment for each medical condition, expressed as a diagnosis related group (DRG), and to reward more efficient hospitals while penalizing the less efficient. Payment became separated from actual costs. . .Read more of the “Paradox of Specialty” blog post by Richard Rohr, MD, MMM, FACP, on HospitalistLeadership.com.
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