Healthcare system wastes up to $800 billion a year | U.S. | Reuters - The Diigo Meta page

• 03 Nov 09
  

  scriptbabe451
• 27 Oct 09
  

  Noah Dyer

  The U.S. healthcare system is just as wasteful as President Barack Obama says it is, and proposed reforms could be paid for by fixing some of the most obvious inefficiencies, preventing mistakes and fighting fraud.

  healthcare business economy

• 26 Oct 09
  

  Chasjo Mitch

  health care

  • The U.S. healthcare system is just as wasteful as President Barack Obama says it is, and proposed reforms could be paid for by fixing some of the most obvious inefficiencies, preventing mistakes and fighting fraud, according to a Thomson Reuters report released on Monday.
  • The bad news is that an estimated $700 billion is wasted annually. That's one-third of the nation's healthcare bill
  • 9 more annotations...
  • • The good news is that by attacking waste we can reduce healthcare costs without adversely affecting the quality of care or access to care.
    • a paper-based system that discourages sharing of medical records accounts for 6 percent of annual overspending
    • Unnecessary care such as the overuse of antibiotics and lab tests to protect against malpractice exposure makes up 37 percent of healthcare waste or $200 to $300 billion a year.
    • Fraud makes up 22 percent of healthcare waste, or up to $200 billion a year
    • Administrative inefficiency and redundant paperwork account for 18 percent of healthcare waste
    • Medical mistakes account for $50 billion to $100 billion in unnecessary spending each year, or 11 percent of the total
    • Preventable conditions such as uncontrolled diabetes cost $30 billion to $50 billion a year
    • The average U.S. hospital spends one-quarter of its budget on billing and administration, nearly twice the average in Canada
    • American physicians spend nearly eight hours per week on paperwork and employ 1.66 clerical workers per doctor
• 

  Avdi Grimm
• 

  Ed Webb

  health healthcare reform waste corruption USA

  • The U.S. healthcare system wastes between $505 billion and $850 billion every year
  • Fraud makes up 22 percent of healthcare waste, or up to $200 billion a year in fraudulent Medicare claims, kickbacks for referrals for unnecessary services and other scams.
  • 2 more annotations...
  • • The average U.S. hospital spends one-quarter of its budget on billing and administration, nearly twice the average in Canada
    • American physicians spend nearly eight hours per week on paperwork and employ 1.66 clerical workers per doctor, far more than in Canada

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