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The Smart Life Institute is a global health initiative committed to providing sports science solutions for training, rehab, and life.

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09/12/2010 12:00 pm - 04:00 pm

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Upcoming RunSmart Level One Clinic in Austin, Texas on 09/12/2010.

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    Disruptive Innovation In Physical Therapy: Part II
    Monday, 05 July 2010 13:43
    Tags: consumer - issues - health care
    In Part I, I discussed the issues of quality and value in the health care system (in general) and in physical therapy (specifically). Let me expand on that a bit, and then provide an innovative solution to the problems at hand.

    A typical episode of care, in the current paradigm of what is “acceptable care” (note how I did not say “evidence-based care”) is 8 to 10 visits. As I mentioned earlier, this is considered by many to be “great care” and is even advertised as such. These same 8 to 10 visits are costing the patient, on average, anywhere from $64 to $80 per visit, with a total of $512 to $800 out-of-pocket for any given episode of care. This investment may not provide much value-added benefit nor quality, especially if evidence- and science-based strategies have not been implemented in competent self care strategies. Sadly, the disconnect between quality and value has become the accepted standard amongst clinicians and patients – for all the reasons that I outlined in Part I.

    Add to this the fact that for every $10 spent on health care, $9 are spent on overhead. Yes, just $1 is spent on actual care, and even that is being lost in the quality/value debacle. But we also know that for every year of education, health care costs drop. So having people better educated in the process of their care makes good sense economically and culturally.

    Seven years ago, my clinical practice moved from an insurance-based model to an out-of-network fee for service model. But what I have found over the years is that patients are so driven by “what their insurance covers or pays for” or “who is in or out of network”, that they fail to fully comprehend and consider the issues of quality and value. 

    A fee for service model can provide an out-of-pocket cost saving, though conflicting value systems remain. Innovation can provide quality, outcome, value, and cost-efficiency, but something radically different will be required to transform our current models. Let’s examine how a fee for mentorship model provides a value proposition that is revolutionary in how we view health care, physical therapy, and health in general.

     
    Disruptive Innovation In Physical Therapy: Part I
    Thursday, 01 July 2010 15:23
    Tags: consumer - issues - health care

    Health care is in dire need of transformation. The system as we know it has been built on a foundation of principles that have conflicting values. Whether it’s the reimbursement models or the practice patterns, or both, the concepts of “quality” and “value” have been lost in the mix. What has become the accepted standard of care and delivery has become outdated, and in the midst of it, the patient – the driver of all of this – has been forgotten.

    In any other realm, we look to quality and value as two key elements of an exceptional customer experience. A free and open marketplace fosters this. Consumers critically examine cost, quality of service, and results in their decision-making process for just about everything – cars, homes, education, you name it. Except health care.

    Patients have learned to accept the gross failures and inadequacies of the health care system. Are patients satisfied with their care? Sure. But are their expectations of this “accepted standard” really at a high enough level? Or are they satisfied with something less simply because they have been told that that is the accepted standard?

    This becomes all the more apparent in the world of physical therapy. When there are clinicians proclaiming that “first class service and results” create “the top physical therapy clinic for patient satisfaction” – and then stating that the “average length of stay is 10 visits – guaranteed” – I shake my head in disbelief. When 10 visits per course of care is considered “great care”, I have to wonder about what has become the accepted standard these days.

    And there is plenty of finger-pointing by the clinicians at the insurance companies. It’s their fault for such low reimbursement rates, right? On the surface, there are many instances in which the finger-pointing may be well-deserved. But when you point a finger, as they say, four point back at you. The clinicians are as much to blame as anyone, and much of that has to do with a simple lack of innovation at a far deeper, systemic level. It starts with the clinician, their product, and their means of delivery.

    Transformation requires a deeper level of understanding of the systemic problems, so let’s start there first.

     
    BlogTalkRadio 7/6/2010: New Models Of Health Care Delivery
    Thursday, 01 July 2010 00:00

    Join me on BlogTalkRadio on Tuesday July 6, 2010 at 8:00 pm central time for the latest episode of "Consumer's Guide To Health".The health care system is facing a number of problems. If it's not a question of cost, it's a question of quality. And if it's not a question of quality, it's a question of accessibility and of value. The future of health care will see not only an evolution towards competent self care, but it will also see innovative changes in how health care is delivered.

    This episode's special guest is Dr. Sidney Robin, a family practice physician in Austin, Texas and owner of Austin Concierge Medicine.

    The BlogTalkRadio call-in number is 646-929-1567. You can listen online at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/abesselink and also download this and previous episodes here as well.

    Join us for the discussion!

     
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    Who Is Allan Besselink?

    Physical therapist. Endurance sports coach. Author. Educator. Innovator. Director, Smart Life Institute. Details here.

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