Gee, Doc. Drag up a hickory stump.
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Having coffee at church this evening with an old doc. Guy is still pretty sharp...Just got through driving a 3000 mile trip. By himself.
Thought that was pretty good for a guy that turns 92 in a couple of months.
Anyway, we were talking about Medicine today...Medicare reimbursements, hospital consolidations, etc...The old doc has seen a lot, having been in practice before Medicare existed.
We had drifted over to the subject of hospitalists and hospitals, when
he said something that struck home...
We've improved the technology, but we've lost some of the quality.
He was talking about continuity of care, particularly in elderly patients.
Now y'all, I can whip out and decipher QA indicators with most folks in my end of the hospital biz, but just because somebody made the numbers look good, doesn't always mean the care is good. Care is more than just outcomes.
How can a hospitalist be as effective as a good doctor who knows his patient? Especially when hospitalists change from day to day?
It was an interesting conversation...
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We've improved the technology, but we've lost some of the quality.
I know the point he was making was medical, but this sums modern life up to me pretty precisely.
And we just keep doing it.
