Improving Health Care
The health care delivery system must be restructured to facilitate
health promotion and disease prevention while providing high quality,
cost-effective diagnosis and treatment of illness as well as palliative
care.
The current delivery system is disjointed and lacks the necessary
infrastructure and processes to achieve optimal results. An improved
delivery system should help enable professionals to provide coordinated
patient-centered care-including medical homes-by improving communication
among providers and patients.
Policies aimed at improving coordination and integration of care
must be strengthened to enable providers to function more efficiently
and effectively. An electronic health record, that ultimately is
interoperable, is a critical component of the changes necessary
to correct these flaws and must be available for everyone as soon
as possible to facilitate effective and efficient health care. The
health care delivery system should also be better coordinated with
the nation's public health systems to optimize opportunities for
improving individual and community health.
All individuals should have options available regarding health
plans and providers, and meaningful support in decision-making also
should be available to diverse consumers. This support should empower
providers and patients to help reduce the nation's health disparities
and encourage value in spending while not discouraging patients
from obtaining necessary, valuable services because of cost-sharing
disincentives. Care should be centered on patients' needs and preferences,
with shared responsibility among patients, providers, and payors.
The health care system should also be easily navigable to allow
patients to actively participate in their own care.
Learn More
AAMC
Comments on Reform Legislation (PDF) October 27, 2009
COD-COTH
Letter to Congress (PDF) July 2, 2009
The
Medical Home: Position Statement (PDF)
The medical home model emphasizes an ongoing relationship between
health care provider and patient, as well as coordination of care
among providers and community services.
Policy
Priorities to Improve the Nation's Health (PDF) December
2008
AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., submitted to President-elect
Obama and his transition team an outline of the association's policy
priorities to help fashion and implement solutions to the nation's
health care needs
Healthcare Innovation Zones (HIZs)
The AAMC proposes the creation and testing of a concept called the
"healthcare innovation zone" (HIZ). The HIZ is designed to demonstrate
that coordination of care, coupled with a multiple payer reimbursement
model, will support more effective planning and delivery of care,
and enable resources to be allocated where they can add the greatest
value. This demonstration will be large enough to demonstrate the
efficacy of fundamental changes in the healthcare delivery and financing
models that are needed to increase quality and reduce costs throughout
the U.S.
In the Media
Despite
Economy, Health Care Reform Still a Priority for President, Congress—Reporter,
January 2009
Med
School, High Tech—Inside Higher Ed, July 2009
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