Getting away from the business in healthcare

[Prospero]

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I'm wondering if, perhaps, hospitals and healthcare in general might perform better if they were not seen as a business. If the general population felt involved and aware of what was happening at the local hospital, then perhaps good things might happen in the healthcare field, such as a decline in malpractice suits. Not to mention level of care might get a little better because those actually working there would feel better about their jobs! I don't even think that healthcare would have to be "socialized." A simple effort to work with the community more should suffice. Just a thought.

 

[QuikClot]

Where in Oregon do you live? If you live in the Portland area, you have your choice of Kaiser (nonprofit coporation) the Providence system (Catholic) or Legacy (nonprofit corporation). Hospitals in our area tend not to be for-profit businesses; I don't know how much this holds true in the rest of the country.

There are a lot of good things to be said about the business model; efficiency, adaptiveness, innovation. There are downsides; resources diverted into marketing, competition for well-heeled patients, etc. All and all, I think that it is exceptional that so many hospitals are run as nonprofits. Similiarly, they interact with the community in a myriad number of ways; education programs, safety, etc.

Now we need a system where everyone can get care from those hospitals (without hitting up the emergency room) and we're golden.

 

[Prospero]

I guess what I'm asking is what is the best way to get patients to understand how hospitals are run (especially non-profits). Regardless of how a hospital is run, many people still see medicine as a business, and businesses are more concerned about the bottom line than, say, a patient. So how do we get away from being labeled as business-like?
As far as getting the community involved, I was thinking more community involvement in the actual operation of the hospital... town hall type meetings and such. People are much less likely to be at odds with something they feel they have a say in.

 

[chef_NU]

I guess what I'm asking is what is the best way to get patients to understand how hospitals are run (especially non-profits). Regardless of how a hospital is run, many people still see medicine as a business, and businesses are more concerned about the bottom line than, say, a patient. So how do we get away from being labeled as business-like?
As far as getting the community involved, I was thinking more community involvement in the actual operation of the hospital... town hall type meetings and such. People are much less likely to be at odds with something they feel they have a say in.

Prospero I hate to tell you this, but that is wishful thinking. It would be great if we could legislate attitude and change behavior, but we can't. The only tried and true policy is to create incentives.