The Role of Preventive Care in Health Reform
Thursday June 11, 2009
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal explores preventive care and its effect on health costs. A 2008 study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that no, prevention does not necessarily pay. However, most legislators believe that disease prevention should play a key role in health reform.
The article suggests that there are interventions that do result in cost savings, and that perhaps more should be done to fine tune other interventions to make them more cost effective. Also, perhaps the focus of prevention should be improved health outcomes rather than cost savings.
Comments
Some of the tests that are used as part of prevention are very costly and because of the cost that is one reason why many people don’t get needed tests.
Reducing the cost of these tests could help make it easier for many people to get the needed tests.
Illnesses and injuries affect everyone at some point in life. That is why it is important to think about how to prevent getting sick or injured. READ MORE:
http://www.manipalcureandcare.com/preventive/index.aspx
Part of this prevention debate comes from a disagreement over all of the things that “prevention” can mean. Saying that “prevention does not necessarily pay” should lead to the question, “Well, what sorts of prevention do pay?” Our answer is that every $1 dollar of community-based, primary prevention will save $6 in the future.