Over a hundred studies suggest that medical clinical practices show low compliance with evidence-based recommendations and practice guidelines. Even more concerning is that practice guidelines show poor methodological quality. This leads to lives lost which should have been saved.
In a world with accelerating new technologies and emerging medical cures, intelligent and caring medical professionals are stuck using unproven methods.
FEAR OF PUNISHMENT TRUMPS NEED TO IMPROVE
Medical practitioners fear the catastrophic effects of a medical malpractice lawsuit. This fear drives a conservatism in trying something new and a need to be part of a group that protects each individual practitioner from the great harm caused being a target of a malpractice lawsuit.
While tech companies are embracing methodologies for rapid continual improvement and amassing huge databases to gain evidence-based insights, the medical field resists change because of the risk of doing something different from the historical consensus which can be supported both in court and by peers.
REWARD AND RISK
The medical/healthcare industry needs to reward practitioners who take prudent risks and improve medical outcomes. There needs to be a balance between reward for great improvements and the risk of falling short.
Any action in life has a risk. When someone invests their money, they understand there is no guaranteed outcome. The reward from success outweighs the risk for most. What society expects is that risks are properly disclosed, and the client can make an informed decision. Financial advisors are not in constant fear of a malpractice lawsuit, and those who do wrong are held accountable.
PAY FOR VALUE AND PUNISH WRONGDOING NOT RISK
There is little reward for doctors and other practitioners that can bring improvement and value to the community. Last year the government effectively gave every doctor a pay cut by reducing the amount they would reimburse for their services. Doctors whether they contributed substantial value or had malpractice claims and underperformed are treated the same.
Doctors and other medical practitioners should be handsomely rewarded according to the value they contribute. Risk needs to be dealt with by mandating transparency and giving patients a choice. There needs to be legal reform to protect the patient from wrongdoing, and not reward lawyers who can pull on jury’s heart strings.
CAREMOAT
CareMoat works with self-insured employers to get better benefits and the lowest cost. We believe that changing the way we purchase healthcare services is necessary and will result in substantial reductions in cost and substantial increases in quality and value.
Reference info:
Kaniklidis, Constantine. (2014). Re: What proportion of medicine is evidence-based?. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/post/What-proportion-of-medicine-is-evidence-based/533897aed2fd6438598b45b3/citation/download.
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