ATLANTA, July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Like all the King's men
in the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme, U.S. healthcare leaders are
searching for ways to put our fractured healthcare system "back
together again." That fact and analogy are focal points of a
presentation by Gordon Norman, MD,
chief innovation officer for Alere, at the Seventh Annual
Healthcare Unbound Conference, July
19-20 in San Diego.
Dr. Norman's presentation will highlight the various
participants within the healthcare industry – physicians, state and
federal legislators, attorneys, healthcare technology companies,
courts, private investors and patients – and how complex and
disparate the system has become, leading to higher costs and poorer
outcomes ... in effect, a broken system.
"Never has the healthcare system been more complex, or more
ineffective," says Dr. Norman. "If we are going to put the
healthcare system back together, we have to find smarter ways to
connect, empower, and better care for all of our citizens."
He notes key challenges facing our nation:
- Medical cost inflation is two to three times that of general
inflation.
- Chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease are
proliferating for adults, and for the first time in history,
children and adolescents may have a shorter lifespan than their
parents.
- Two-thirds of the U.S. population is overweight or obese; poor
habits and lifestyle choices account for 60% of all deaths.(1)
Dr. Norman and his colleagues at Alere, a patient-centered
health management company serving large employers, health plans,
and provider organizations nationwide, believe a key solution is a
return to patient-centric models of healthcare that focus on what
patients want and need. His recommendation to the healthcare
industry is to:
- Enhance the ability of primary care physicians to manage their
panel of patients through the use of technology to better connect
and promote collaboration among expanded care teams
- Help individuals make better choices and decisions through
empowering technologies like remote monitoring, home diagnostics
and interoperable health information exchange for electronic and
personal health records
- Reimburse care teams for positive outcomes rather than
piecework, while linking patient out-of-pocket costs to healthy
decisions and actions
Dr. Norman believes the solution to the current broken
healthcare system will not come from monolithic changes imposed top
down, but will emerge from bottom up regional health reform
experiments at the state and local levels where employers,
providers, and health plans can be more innovative, where multiple
interests may be more easily aligned, and where political barriers,
as well as status quo inertia, can be overcome.
About Alere Health
Alere Health (www.alere.com) is a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Inverness Medical Innovations, Inc. (www.invernessmedical.com)
(NYSE: IMA). Alere, a Latin verb, meaning "to care for" or "to
support", offers the most patient-centered health management
services available from a single provider in the industry. Alere
services provide health interventions that are designed for the
entire lifespan from pre-cradle (high-risk pregnancy and NICU
management) to end-of-life care (complex care) as well as the
continuum of health from wellness (health and productivity
programs) and prevention to total health management of the
individual for those having various chronic illnesses.
(1) BMJ. 2008 Sep 16;337:a1440. doi: 10.1136/bmj.a1440.
© 2010 Alere. All rights reserved. Alere is a trademark of the
Alere group of companies.
SOURCE Alere Health