TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGED CARE
BACKGROUND
Although, managed care plans reduce health care expenditure; those plans can not control the growth of the health care cost. In fact, new medical technology is now one of the most important determinant of cost growth. The impact of how the health community utilizes medical technology and information technology will be able to determine whether managed care plans reduce expenditure growth to sustainable levels. Indeed, managed care has a large interest on the growth of technology whether it be concerning the internet or advanced medical treatments.
Some ways of technology that surely impact managed care include:
WEB SITE REVIEW
Listed below are several sites pertaining to the area of medical technology. Brief descriptions are included, and each is rated on a 5-star scale based on the usefulness of the site.
INQUIRY - The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing
Rank *****
Inquiry, the Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision and Financing, is a peer-reviewed, scholarly publication. This journal is published quarterly in Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of the Rochester Area, in cooperation with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans. Those who visit this site can see that Inquiry provides a forum for the communication and discussion of relevant public policy issues, innovative concepts, and original research and demonstration in the areas of health care organization, provision, and financing.
Office of Technology Assessment: The OTA Legacy
Rank
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Office of Technology Assessment till 1995 occupied a unique role among the Congressional information agencies. Unlike the General Accounting Office, which is primarily concerned with evaluation of ongoing programs, and the Congressional Research Service, which provides rapid information on legislative topics, OTA provided a deeper, more comprehensive, and more technical level of analysis. Through eleven Congressional sessions, OTA became a key resource for Congressional members and staff confronting technological issues in crafting public policy. This site makes available in electronic form the complete collection of OTA publications along with additional materials that illuminate the history and impact of the agency. National Human Genome Research Institute Rank *****NHGRI funds research in chromosome mapping, DNA sequencing, database development, technology development for genome research, and studies of the ethical, legal, and social implications of genetics research. Its mission is to head The Human Genome Project or the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NHGRI is one of 24 institutes, centers, or divisions that make up the NIH, the federal government's primary agency for the support of biomedical research. The collective research components of the NIH make up the largest biomedical research facility in the world. NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The site has useful information to both the general public and the scientific community. Such information include current research, grant funding opportunities, a glossary of biological terms, and current news articles. Rank *****A private, nonprofit society of scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. For advice on the scientific issues that frequently pervade policy decisions, the nation's leaders often turn to the Academy which was specially created for this purpose: the National Academy of Sciences and its sister organizations -- the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council. The site includes links to its sister organizations and has information available for Congress, members, and the general public. Association for Health Services Research (AHSR) Rank **** National membership organization promoting research of the delivery, quality, and financing of the US health care system. The Association for Health Services Research is a national, nonprofit membership organization devoted to the promotion of the field of health services research. Its primary mission is to increase the contribution that health services research makes to improve the health care system and health status of Americans. This site offers a good directory of links to related sources and even a marker specifically for students.
WEB ACCESSIBLE DOCUMENTS David H. Mark, MD, MPH; Richard M. Glass, MD , JAMA V. 282 No. 19, Nov. 17, 1999 http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v282n19/full/jed90089.html The editors of 89 medical journals from around the world voted to select Impact of New Technologies in Medicine as the topic for the 1999 global theme issue. A total of 42 medical journals have indicated their participation in the current global theme issue by devoting all or some of their pages to this topic in November 1999 (a list of these journals is available online at http://jama.ama-assn.org/info/links.html). This document was an introduction promoting the journals devoted to this topic and was intended to help lead to better understanding and solutions to some of the problems resulting from the impact of new technologies on health care.
Perry S, Thamer M., JAMA. 1999;282:1869-1872 Http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v282n19/full/jco90049.html Since medical technologies are believed to be a major driver of increased health expenditures and, thus, an object of cost containment, as well as a guarantor of quality in the US health care system, national leadership is required to balance these potentially ambivalent tendencies. The United States has no formal mechanism to study these problems or to provide guidance to policymakers, the medical community, the public, and others in addressing these issues, the author therefore states how health technology assessment is critical and a more equitable and consistent system for identifying the most beneficial and appropriate technologies for their care is necessary.
Les Yonemoto, MD, American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 41st Annual Meeting Day 3 - November 3, 1999http://www.medscape.com/medscape/cno/1999/ASTRO/Story.cfm?story_id=869 This is a short summary of a presentation on the future of cancer care in the field of radiology. The speaker speaks of concerns such as commodity market, health insurance, and information technology that will dominate the future of health care.
Ann Scheck McAlearney, ScD, Drug Benefit Trends: 11(8):58-60, 1999. http://www.medscape.com/SCP/DBT/1999/v11.n08/d5734.mcal/d5734.mcal-01.html This article claims that information technology in health care becomes more and more important as the quantity and quality of information increase. By purchasing, developing, or integrating information systems within health care organizations, strategic goals, such as increasing Medicare membership, improving health outcomes, and maintaining appropriate oversight for Medicare risk contracts, can be possible. The author claims that only through the use of well-planned and well-executed information systems strategies that health care organizations can truly manage Medicare risk and be armed with the information necessary to identify, monitor, and target appropriate interventions for members within their Medicare population.
http://www.rwjf.org/iftf/index.htm The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation asked the Institute for the Future (IFTF) to forecast the future of health and health care in America for the period between now and the year 2010. The purpose of this is to provide the reader with a description of critical factors that will influence health and health care in the first decade of the 21st century. In this book, we have singled out the trends most likely to influence the course of Americans' health and the state of the American health care delivery system between now and the year 2010. The findings of this study will be of value to community service organizations, hospitals, providers, payers, and researchers in the long-term planning processes that support their own visions of the future.
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