Healthcare Leadership Council Chair Susan DeVore
+ Technology/Innovation
Jamie Barrand | Feb 25, 2016

Health care professionals unveil six steps for health care system improvement

A group of health care professionals, with the assistance of representatives from patient advocacy groups, has developed a list of strategies they believe will enhance the United States health care system.

During a Feb. 24 briefing on Capitol Hill, members of that group, led by Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC) Chair Susan DeVore, unveiled a list of six steps for members of the Obama administration, Congress and the health care industry to follow.

“It is a rare achievement to bring so many diverse stakeholders together in consensus on issues of such importance,” DeVore said. “There is a widespread understanding that, for all of our health care system’s considerable strengths, we need to make strides in providing high-quality care at sustainable costs. The six steps on which we have reached agreement will move us significantly in that direction.”

The steps include an absolute deadline of Dec. 31, 2018, to have nationwide health information interoperability in place; improvements to the Food and Drug Administration, including a reduction of "administrative burdens" required by the agency as well as a call for new treatments and technologies being offered to patients in less time; improvements to Medicare, private insurance agencies and health care providers, with regard to care for chronically ill patients; federal government reform for physician self-referrals, anti-kickback statements and Medicaid payment waiver policies to lead to enhanced care coordination and decrease fraud; standardization of U.S. privacy laws and better access to patient data to be used for health care and medical research; and improvements to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Medication Therapy Management Model.

“These steps aren’t revolutionary, but they are transformative,” HLC President Mary Grealy said. “Innovation is too often put on the back burner when we discuss health care policy, but it’s critical to elevating health system value, to addressing quality and cost challenges. There are viable, practical, common-sense solutions that can and should be implemented to help make our health care system more patient-centered and effective.”

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