Intel Chairman Calls on Employers to Transform Healthcare System
"The current healthcare system is economically unsustainable and negatively impacting our nation's ability to compete globally," said Barrett, also a member of the United States Health and Human Services' American Health Information Community. "It's time for a systemic transformation, and U.S. employers must lead."
In 2004, total U.S. health expenditures rose 7.9 percent - more than three times the rate of inflation. Total spending was $1.9 trillion in 2004, or $6,280 per person, and is expected to increase to $4 trillion, or 20 percent of the gross domestic product in 2015. This explosion in healthcare costs is affecting U.S. competitiveness and the stability of corporations throughout the country.
Barrett urged stakeholders to consider a different approach to address healthcare's rising costs. "Part of the reason no large-scale solution exists is that we have been distracted by the debate of 'who pays,'" said Barrett. "Our focus should be on achieving higher quality healthcare at a reduced cost."
Barrett suggested a multi-pronged approach to healthcare system transformation. First, technology should be considered a tool that can bring about improvements in healthcare as it has in other industries such as manufacturing and retail. If the healthcare industry could overcome barriers to technology adoption, such as the lack of standards and interoperability, the value of technology could be more fully realized.
Second, the nation as a whole should re-examine healthcare delivery and foster new models of care, from expensive medical facilities to more accessible, lower cost settings. Barrett encouraged the growth of integrated "health marts" as competitive centers of excellence which would allow for greater consumer choice based on convenience, price and results.
And finally, since large employers such as Intel - which employs more than 50,000 people in the U.S. and is on track to spend $1 billion on healthcare by 2010 - are burdened by enormous healthcare costs, they should take a lead in driving changes in the system. Employers fund healthcare in three ways: corporate income taxes, health benefits for employees, and the increasing cost shift of the nearly 40 million uninsured Americans.
"Employers and their employees have the most to gain from creating a viable healthcare system," said Barrett. "Improved health depends on good information. The employer's role is to get this information into the hands of their employees to make better healthcare and lifestyle choices."
To play its part, Barrett said, Intel will offer its expertise on how to more effectively incorporate information technology into healthcare. The company will also be more involved in policy issues and will bring together additional stakeholders to join its efforts in the coming months.
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2010년 8월 24일 09:30
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