The numbers are hard to comprehend. A two trillion dollar healthcare system with approximately 1/3 of the funds being wasted!! I imagine that in an ideal situation, it may be possible to squeeze hundreds of millions of dollars of savings out of the system, however is this realistic? Even if a 10% improvement could be achieved, the numbers would still be in the $60-$70 Billion range.
Ann Arbor, MI October 26, 2009 - The U.S. healthcare system wastes between $600 billion and $850 billion annually, according to a white paper published by Thomson Reuters. The report identifies the most significant drivers of wasteful spending - including administrative inefficiency, unnecessary treatment, medical errors, and fraud - and quantifies their cost. It is based on a review of published research and analyses of proprietary healthcare data. "The bad news is that an estimated $700 billion is wasted annually.
That's one-third of the nation's healthcare bill," said Robert Kelley, vice president of healthcare analytics at Thomson Reuters and author of the white paper. "The good news is that by attacking waste, healthcare costs can be reduced without adversely affecting the quality of care or access to care.
Waste in the U.S. Healthcare System Pegged at $700 Billion in Report from Thomson Reuters
Do we have capacity in Canada to improve the efficiency of our healthcare system? How inefficient do you think the Canadian healthcare system is and where could we achieve the maximum reduction in waste? (technology or system related)
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