Care in the Most Appropriate Venue

A federal advisory panel is suggesting that payments to hospitals should be reduced in cases in which a patient could receive care less expensively in a physician’s office.   This is like saying the price for oranges should be reduced if you can buy cheaper apples.  It’s comparing two entirely different venues of care and failing to recognize the specific needs of the individual patient.

Two of the leading healthcare administrators in Texas addressed this issue in the Dallas Business Journal.  As Joel Allison, president and CEO of the Baylor Health Care System pointed out, “Depending on the patient’s condition, a hospital – which, by design, has greater capabilities – may be more appropriate than a physician’s office for certain services.”

And as Doug Hawthorne, CEO of Texas Health Resources, noted, there are potentially serious ramifications to any policy that would make further cuts in Medicare payments to hospitals.

He said, “Further cuts only add more pressure on providers to reduce service to a population that needs us more than ever and is growing in numbers every day.”

Both Allison and Hawthorne are members of the Healthcare Leadership Council.

The two healthcare leaders are absolutely correct.  You can’t compare the capabilities of a physician’s office with those of a hospital, particularly when a majority of the Medicare population is dealing with one or more chronic conditions.  And, with chronic illnesses on the rise and the utilization of health services increasing with the aging of the U.S. population, this is hardly the time to rationalize further reductions in resources for American hospitals.