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Consumers have told us that they want to have more control over their choice of doctor and hospital than they do under traditional HMO-type health benefit models. So, for the last couple of years, health plans have been responding, offering broader and more open networks and putting more choice in the hands of consumers. But that choice isn't very meaningful if consumers have no information on which to base their decisions about where they get their care. This — the decision that consumers have told us is most precious to them — is a decision they have to make in the dark. This is beginning to change, and will change even more in the near future, because consumers are demanding that it change. A recent survey found that the vast majority of consumers want more control over their care and believe they can manage their own health care choices. They are also searching, in unprecedented numbers, for information about their medical conditions and treatment options. In this, health care is simply trailing a great swelling tide of consumerism that has transformed our economy over the last decade. Giving people a fair shake in the health care system starts with giving them the facts — what is known and what isn't known about their treatment choices, what things cost and how the system works. Sometimes this will come in the form of information delivered over the Internet, sometimes in the form of coaching and health education. Sometimes it will be by making the structure of the system more visible or transparent to patients, like the "tiering" network structures you’ll read about in the pages that follow. In a world where rising health care costs are causing every American to pay more for health services, where aggressive direct-to-consumer marketing of medications is driving up demand for drugs and where science and technology continue to give us more options for diagnosis and treatment, we have to give people access to good, clear, understandable information about every aspect of their care. It is time to acknowledge that health care and clinical treatments are imperfect. It is time to acknowledge that care isn’t the same everywhere. And it is time to acknowledge that each of us has a different set of values and preferences, and those preferences — for care, for outcomes, for risk — need to be respected. People need to be given a chance to let their own values and preferences guide their care, and that won't happen unless they are informed and involved. When that happens, we will all feel more confident in our decisions, we will use our resources more wisely and health care will improve. Sincerely,
Jack Lord, M.D. |
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