Of the $2 trillion spent on health care every year, nearly $500 billion is wasted, Congressman Tim Murphy explained to the 2008 graduating class at the Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing Friday.
Ten percent of that $500 billion is spent on preventable infections, which result in nearly 100,000 hospital-stay deaths every year. Congressman Murphy told the 300-person audience that’s why he introduced the Healthy Hospitals Act, a bill that incentivizes hospitals to reduce their infection rates.
“There are people in Washington who are actively doing things about health care,” said West Penn Hospital CEO Dr. Chris Olivia during introductory remarks. “And Congressman Murphy is one of those leaders.”
“Some people can talk the talk,” said Dr. Olivia. “But the Congressman has walked the walk and right here within the four walls of this institution.”
Murphy, who has a PhD in psychology and practiced as a child psychologist for over two decades, made rounds at Childrens, Mercy, and Magee-Womens Hospitals during the 1980s.
While political parties squabble over who should (or how to) pay for health care, Congressman Murphy told the audience that the bottom line is that Uncle Sam wouldn’t make for a very good doctor.
“The federal government is not a very efficient medical practice. You wouldn’t want to run your hospital the way government runs health care.”
What the government must do, said Congressman Murphy, is enact smart legislation that would reduce infection rates, improve patient care, and make medical records electronic.
Today when a patient visits a new doctor, they find themselves filling out the same mountain of paperwork they did during a previous medical care visit. Oftentimes, information is lost and the patient is put through a battery of unnecessary tests. If doctors, specialists, and hospitals could communicate more effectively, the American health care system would save nearly $162 billion a year, according to a 2005 study by the RAND Corporation.
As Congressman Murphy explained, thirty million times a year a pharmacist calls a doctor about a preventable, prescription error. If pharmacies and medical practitioners shared prescriptions and patient information electronically, Medicare could save $29 billion a year.
Another cost-saving measure that the government must promote is integrated care, said Congressman Murphy. Nearly 70 percent of health care costs are consumed by the chronically ill. When general practitioners, specialists, nutritionists, and post-operation nurses collaborate on the course of care, patients can avoid future maladies.
Ultimately, said Congressman Murphy, by providing patients with the information necessary to make decisions, quality and efficiency of care will improve.
