The Positive Contrarian

Managed Care and Managed Competition Working in Tandem Can Hold Down Costs

As we continue to evaluate the cost of healthcare, two main ideas are gaining traction; managed care and managed competition, both are models designed to enhance value in a market. Defined as patient-centered, managed care coordinates care, thereby providing payment incentives that reward achieving cost, quality, and service measures; thus, offering value-based care, whereas, the managed competition model… Read More »

Have we found The Holy Grail in Artificial Intelligence?

A day rarely ends without Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its vast benefit being discussed in some form or fashion. I am all for technological and mathematical advances; however, one needs to remember that we are early on this journey and we would be better served to avoid the “shiny object syndrome”, meaning chasing after an item merely because… Read More »

Looking at the Liability of Artificial Intelligence

As we continue to embrace technology and machine learning to improve care, it is essential to focus on situations as they arise, and advocate adjustments that allow us to evolve. One such area that requires further scrutiny is Physician liability and artificial intelligence (AI). Undeniably, AI is by no means flawless since it involves machine learning on present… Read More »

Will Price Transparency in Healthcare Make Things Better?

United States purchasers of healthcare pay higher prices for a unit of service relative to other countries. In fact, these prices are primarily opaque, and the consumer rarely knows what it will owe for payment before they make a purchase. Market-based economics argue that price transparency of products leads to greater competition, thus leading to lower costs over… Read More »

Creating Hope and Healing in Any Situation

Happy Holidays! Thank you for reading and engaging with me on The Positive Contrarian this year. Today I am sharing one of my previous posts that focuses on the value of hope, something we all could use a little more of during the season of giving. I look forward to posting new content beginning the week of January… Read More »

How Do We Stop Screening When it No Longer Makes Sense?

As healthcare providers, we focus a tremendous amount of activity on screening to prevent illnesses. Whether it is cholesterol checks, mammograms, or colonoscopies, there is a time where the benefit diminishes due to the age or health of an individual. Currently, we are in a situation where screening continues past its efficacy. Therefore, how do we stop? It… Read More »

Can Spending More on Primary Care Help to Reduce Healthcare Costs?

Recently, there has been a tremendous amount of focus and thought surrounding the idea that if patients use primary care more frequently, healthcare costs will improve. The thought is if more time is spent on prevention it will decrease the need for additional expensive interventions over time. Simultaneously, there is also conversations surrounding a shortage of primary care… Read More »

Considering Supply Optimization in Healthcare is Important

What is supply optimization and why is it important to healthcare? If we are to consider supply optimization as the application of processes and tools to ensure the optimal use of said supply, in terms of healthcare, this means offering our patients the most optimal care we can in the most affordable and accessible way. We continue to… Read More »

Why is Administrative Burden So Great?

As discussed in my post last week, How do we Reduce Healthcare Spending Waste to Improve the Value of Care? I mentioned administrative complexity as a broad category for reducing waste in healthcare. However, before we can implement improvement, we must understand why this category exists. Since the focus is currently on the failure of care delivery, factors… Read More »

How do we Reduce Healthcare Spending Waste to Improve the Value of Care?

In today’s healthcare climate, creating more affordable healthcare services and reducing wasteful spending is the utmost priority. Wastefulness accounts for dollars that are not going towards care, meaning they are affecting the unit price of a service without offering a benefit. According to present conversations surrounding healthcare, the nation’s level of waste is 30% of the overall health… Read More »

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