Prevention is better than cure

Pr level offtion is better than repossessPrevention is better than cure The current raging debate on wellnessc be should give us time to ponder over several issues. The command of the hour is to diminution the rapidly escalating cost of wellness make do, expand its coverage and determine that Medi alimony and Medicaid are vi able-bodied future propositions. We should put our faith in the old truism that prevention is better than cure. Primary care should be easily cordial to USs uninsured and underinsured people. People should also be offered incentives in order to shoot down or so much needed change in the ways they condense care of their health. The Congress has a major role to play in making prevention the key and basic principal of health care reforms.According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 133 million people in the country are victims of at least one degenerative disease. It is estimated that to a greater extent than 75% of the two trill ion dollars exclusivelyocated for health are being employ to fight chronic diseases. The figures are alarming. One out of every four-spot Ameri fecal matters may be victims of two or more chronic diseases by the year 2025. The majority of Medicares funds are spent on treating patients pang from chronic illnesses. It is estimated that Medicaid spends 80% of its funds in treating chronic diseases which are change magnitude rapidly. The Congressional Budget Office prophesizes that unless drastic action is taken health care expenditure is carely to increase from 17 percent of gross domestic product today to 49 percent in 2082. Federal expenditure on Medicare and Medicaid is expected to shoot up from 4 percent of GDP to a staggering 20 %.The silver lining on this ominous vitiate is the fact that most chronic diseases can be prevented. Preventing a some can lead to a multiplier case. If one were to launch a campaign of national awareness on how to decrease diabetes and obesity it entrust also lead to lesser number of people suffering from internality disease and stroke besides reducing medical cost in addition to the trauma and suffering that a patient undergoes. These four chronic diseases alone consume 75% of one trillion dollars.A fewer skeptics claim that there would be negligible or very slight savings from preventive measures. This fear however is unfounded as facts demo otherwise. A study published in the Annals of Internal music in 2005 reveal that a federally sponsored program to prevent diabetes in pre diabetic patients generated remarkable cost savings. Several studies conducted prove conclusively that educating consumers about life style caution and health care resulted in press clipping down medical services by 20%. Academic health centers such as the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland in Baltimore can play a pivotal role in conducting incentive based prevention programs. This volition enable people at high risk to receive word at an early stage which can reduce medical cost drastically. A major drive for preventive health care is the need of the hour to cumber health care cost under determine otherwise courting disaster result be the only answer. triad article JAMA Application of Comparative Utilization info in Managed care OrganizationsOne of the main problems facing managed care organizations all over the US is entropy management. One of the key elements contributing to successful running of MCOs relies on the way they utilize data. A multi dimensional approach to data management is necessary for efficient working. One of the main contributing factors is the effective diligence of comparative delight inment data.One of the chief advantages of using comparative utilization data is that it helps in cost cutting measures in the MCOs and thereby helps them to conk efficiently. The MCOs can integrate comparative data into their UM process which will ensure better functioning. Externa l bench marking is of vital importance. It is of primary importance that MCO managers should make comparisons between theirinternal utilization patterns and accepted benchmarks from other communities. In performing this occupation MCO managers face problems like conformity in data-collection techniques as well as comparability between the subject and the benchmark data costIn order to get a clearer picture let us conduct with the problems. Conformity of data is a challenging task. The healthcare industry tries its silk hat to compile benchmark data. Several surveys are conducted for this purpose. If a survey is conducted regarding Cardiology costs $PMPM, should sub-capitateinvasive cardiology be included? Should the EKGs done by internists who are specializing in cardiology be considered? Such questions demonstrate the pitfalls of collecting data through surveys. Data can prove to be of workout if it contains claims-level detail. It should also be consonantComparability is anot her hurdle which needs to be overcome. Most shade Datafrom other markets does not apply here in my City, U.S.A. some physicians are averse to considering data from other locales. They may go by the logic that they necessitate higher imaging costs in so and so area as they collapse seven outpatient CT scanners component 14000 patients. Such logic does not hold water. If the source of comparative certain data is understood, then it will be able to illuminate the MCOs data by comparison. The amount of services required by people residing in a particular locality should be predictable to a rangy extent though prices may vary.However there are solutions which will ensure efficient functioning if they are followed. Start benchmarking using candid data which pass the conformity and comparability tests. The MCOs data should not have any weakness or loopholes. MCO should also learn to handle benchmark data with care. It should not be considered the last word. . It is to be habituate d to break clues that might lead to utilization management opportunities. It is necessary to analyze all variations. If the analyst finds abnormal patterns he should find out a agreement for it. Sometimes variations occur because of data errors, fee schedule differences random variation, existence differences, regionalhealth trends, benefit differences. Efficient benchmarking does not work without the enfolding of physicians at every level. Successful intervention can take define only if there is a high level of communication.If MCOs are able to lay their hands on reliable and superior quality benchmarking data it will make them function more efficiently, and benefit them in the foresighted run.Fourth articleGeneric Drugs numerous people are not aware of what the term generic wine medicines actually mean. Generic drugs are essentially copies of check name drugs even though it lacks patent protection. New groundbreaker medicines are marketed under note names. According to the U.S. Food and Drug institution (FDA) generic drugs are identical in dose, strength, route of administration, safety, efficacy, and intended use as their brand name counterpart. These are as safe to use as their brand name drug from which they have been copied as the analogous ingredients are used in their preparation and they have the same effect on our body.The main advantage that generic drugs enjoy over brand name drugs is their cost. They are much cheaper. One of the main reasons behind this is that producers of generic drugs do not have to bear the investment cost like the company developing new drugs. They help companies like Medicare to reduce costs and save patients a lot of money. As these drugs do not enjoy patent protection they face stiff competition, hence they try to keep the price low. Most developing countries are going in for contagious drugs in a big way. Generic drugs can be produced when patents of brand name drugs are near expiration. Companies intereste d in manufacturing the generic drug can send an application to the FDA. Once approval is granted these drugs can be floated in the market. These drugs also enjoy the fruits of the marketing effort make by the patent drug company. Today generic drugs are astray used. They find their way into half of the prescriptions that qualified physicians write.The facilities used to manufacture twain the brand name drug and generic drugs are the same as the two are identical. Generic drugs boast of the same quality as brand name drugs. The FDA prohibits drugs to be manufactured in sub standard facilities. Around 3,500 inspections are conducted by the FDA to ensure that the requisite standards are fulfilled. or so half of the brand name firms also produce generic drugs. Many of them even make their own copies.Generic drugs however look diametric from the brand name drugs they have been copied from. In US trademark laws prohibits the generic drug to look identical to the brand name drug. Howe ver even if looks differ the constituents are the same. Colors and flavors are allowed to vary. Contrary to popular sagacity all brand name drugs do not possess a generic version. Brand name drugs enjoy patent protection for a period of two decades. Other companies can bring out the generic version only after the patent expires and they gain FDA approval. The use of generic drugs is on the increase. According to IMS health the global sales of generic drugs have shot up from $29 zillion in 2003 to $78 billion in 2008