Why Complexity Persists in Medicine

• Main Author: Richard Robbins
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Arizona Thoracic Society 2020-02-01
• Series: Southwest Journal of Pulmonary and Critical Care
• Subjects: complexity; medical billing; cms; medicaid; american hospital association; aha; site neutral; cost; pharmaceutical companies; joint commission
• Online Access: http://www.swjpcc.com/editorials/2020/2/3/why-complexity-persists-in-medicine.html

No abstract available. Article truncated after 150 words. This month’s Medical Image of the Month is a cartoon illustrating the complexity of medical billing (1). It illustrates that there are many people involved in the billing process who add nothing medically. However, they do add work, chaos and cost to both the provider and the patient. These along with other administrative costs are likely responsible for the largest portion of increasing healthcare expenses (2). Healthcare costs have far outpaced inflation and inflation adjusted reimbursement to providers has decreased (3,4). Costs of healthcare have become an increasing issue in political campaigns for both National parties. So why is no one doing anything about the issue? The truth is that some are benefitting from the complexity and have a financial incentive to maintain the status quo by opposing change. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and state Medicaids need to accept some of the responsibility for these cost …