Stimulus funds lag health woes - San Francisco Business Times:

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That’s the view of the eight-member panel of industry and medica l experts who were invitedf by the South Florida Business Journal to sharde their views of whatthe $787 billionj federal stimulus package means to the health care What emerged was a broad discussion of how stimulusw legislation is just one piece of change needed in an industry that has run financiall amok due to an overreliance on specialists, shortfallz in information technology and patients who are The Congressional Budget Office has projected that totap national spending on health care could hit 48 percenyt of gross domestic producg by 2050 if left unchecked.
To solve this problenm will takemore money, though, in the short term. The Obama administration’s $59 billion for healthj care stimulus spendingincludes $19 billiomn for electronic health care Starting in 2011, doctors who can show meaningful use of electronicx medical records will get incentives – and those who don’t will get decliningy Medicare payments. But, the old-fashioned general practitioner may also have a big Linda Quick, president of the , said health care refork legislation that coincides with the stimulus calls for individualzs to have a home location or a primaryt care provider.
She said that allowsz for “a community location close to home and getting more done in a actually high clinicaltechnologu setting.” That, in turn, will also translat e into a less costly location, the panelistsw said. Rachel Sapoznik, CEO of , said: “The reaso n I believe in the last 25 yeards of seeing health care costs rise dramatically is we have movef away from the primaru care physician knowing the patienttto specialists.” Patients go from specialistg to specialist to get each ailment but an overview of their condition and familyt history is lacking.
Georgd Foyo, executive VP and chief administrative officerat , said: “Piggybacking on primarhy care is absolutely right. All these specialties are adding thousands and thousandsaof dollars.” One problem is that specialists tend to overdo tests because they are so worried about legalo liability issues, he said. Dr. Tony a family practitioner and president of the Broward CounthMedical Association, said reimbursement issues for tests done in his officed also frustrate him. A hospital might get $2,00o0 for a test from Medicare, but he can only get “I don’t think it’s anything that’s goinhg to work unless we use somecommobn sense,” he said.
Foyo said primary care physicians historically put an emphasis on healthpreventiom efforts, but the lack of it these days is contributing to an epidemifc of diabetes and heart issues. Baptist Health, which is well knownm for hospitals in Kendalland Homestead, is pushing forwared with outpatient centers – and even venturingb into Broward County. One reasoj is emergency rooms are and providing care there is more costl y than at anoutpatient center. “Rather than have patients cometo us, the hospitals are goingb out to them,” Foyo said.
Florida’z 51 nonprofit community health centers aregetting $28 millionm in competitive grants under the stimulus legislation, which will also keep patients out of expensive hospital settinges for treatment. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi highlighted that during an April visit to a community healthn center in Hollywood that willget $1.5 million to open a satellitr health center in West Park. One of the advantages for thess types of centers is that they are fundedd with the assumption that their doorsx will be open to all who which is important because of the numbee of uninsuredSouth Floridians, including undocumented foreigners, Quick Dr.
Welby, meet Bill Gates Mark administrative partner at the law firm ofin Miami, said electroni c medical records (EMR) fall under the categorh of “shovel-ready” projects in the world of stimulud – meaning the technology exists and can be adoptedf rapidly to put money in the economy.