Why Healthcare Intelligence

Over the last few days, I have been encouraged by a few friends and colleagues to start a blog on the healthcare system and healthcare intelligence. Mostly, I think, this has been a response to my persistent complaints about the quality of the healthcare debate. So let's see where it goes.

Among my greatest complaints, of course, is the dearth of cohesive discussions about the healthcare system we have today in the US. Hence the genesis of this blog. On one level, this blog will attempt to describe our healthcare system, its players, and how some of the changes being proposed will play out; on another, it will explore how better healthcare data can reduce cost and improve quality. Now have patience, dear reader, I vow not to bore the socks off you.

At the highest possible level, we have serious problems with our healthcare system that command action: Compared to our OECD colleagues, we pay far more for healthcare in the US, yet we achieve poorer health outcomes than our colleagues. Furthermore, we fail to provide any coverage to about 1/6 of our country (45+ million people) at any given time, and have “inadequate” coverage for another 25 million.

Although these numbers have increased over the last two years due to the economic crisis, the difference is immaterial. The bottom line is that we, as a country, fail to provide adequate insurance coverage to a significant portion of our population, Clearly, we have a structural problem with our healthcare system that needs to be addressed. Almost every other industrialized country has found a way to make healthcare available more widely and at a lower cost, with better outcomes than we do. We don’t need to be the best, but we can certainly do better.

And here’s the problem and the paradox: there is no boogeyman, and the boogeyman is everywhere. What I mean to say, is that our healthcare system is incredibly complicated with so many folks with skin in the game (nb: for you James) that it would be nigh on impossible to say that some one, or some group, or some entity is pulling all the strings to maintain the status quo. In other words, no boogeyman.

But, at the same time, our healthcare predicament is also a product of small decisions made by the federal government, state governments, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, hospitals, universities, clinic and physician offices, the HR director at your company, and yes, my friend, even you and me. In other words, everyone is culpable, so the boogeyman is everywhere.

So how do we sort out this mess? Well, we need to use a little intelligence. So welcome to my blog.