Technology and cost containment simply describes the role or influence of technology in reducing the escalating health care cost. Studies and reviews have shown how health care system in America has lagged far behind several other industries especially in the areas of harnessing the capabilities and potentials of information technology. This should have been used in several areas to improve the services, knowledge, communication, quality, cutting costs and health care efficiency. Considering the needs of the health care sector in America and the population and growing cost in managing health, Information technology will always be needed to improve health care quality and efficiency without increasing costs.
There are several proposed solutions that can be instituted to help approach some of the challenges associated with the containment of the health care cost which is spontaneously increasing in recent times. One of such solutions is the incentivizing wellness programs, promoting transparency and the establishment of programs such as Accountable Care Organizations. Another solution proposed is the redesigning of the primary home care design which create reforms that is targeted at containing cost that is being wasted especially that which is related to readmission. These goals should be made realistic goals in order for the goals to be achievable.
The creation of the Primary-Centered Medical Home allows the launching of diverse settings that gives room for the connection between the expanded accesses, giving patients more opportunities to seek medical care that is more flexible (Rosenthal et al., 2010). This helps to contain the increasing cost of the health system which is efficient with avoidance of the high cost hospital care and emergency department care. Management through reductions in specialty referrals and overused procedures and test are some of the benefits that could be derived from the PCMH model (Rosenthal et al., 2010). Achieving the containment of cost via this system is achieved by better care coordination, access improvements, health information technology, or increased guideline adherence all helping to ensure that wastage is prevented and effectiveness in whatever is being used are achieved.
Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) is a legislation put into law to wire the health care system so as to provide the required power energy. This HITECH provisions are an essential foundation that will help Americans restructure the health care delivery. It will facilitate the system by improving upon the health quality, delivery, efficiency and patient-centeredness of health care. The use of data management is one important way that can be used in
Policy makers or proposed by those policy makers to address the challenge of lack of transparency. When there is software that monitors all data input. It will be difficult to manipulate input data in order to steal information unless the software is being cracked. The software will allow for user to store, analyze and act on patients and population based information. Another point where information technology would have been up help to contain costs of health care services is that which relates to the aspect of speed of analyses. At this point, information technology programs will allow analyses to be done at a very fast speed when compared to normal human rate. This allows the health care professional to manage more patients at a fast rate.
References
Butin, M.B., Jain. S.H., & Blumenthal, D. (2010). Health Information Technology: Laying the Infrastructure for National Health Reform. Health Affairs. The people-people health foundation, inc. ProQuest Central. Page 1214-1219.
Oritz, E. & Clancy, C.B.(2003).Use of Information Technology to Improve the Quality of Health Care in the United States. Health Service Research. Health Research & Educational Trust.
Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1360897/
Patel, Kavital. (2013). Containing Health Care Costs: Recent Progress and Remaining Challenges. Research. Brookings.
Retrieved from http://www.brookings.edu/research/testimony/2013/07/30-health-care-costs-patel
Rosenthal et al., (2010). Will the patient-centered medical home improve efficiency and reduce cost of care? A measurement and research agenda. Medical care research and review. SAGE.
Retrieved from http://mcr.sagepub.com/content/67/4/476
