Time for the wisdom of the crowd

On the post below, "nonlocal MD," a regular contributor, asks:

I would next like to see a series on how you think all this could be done better, perhaps drawing on your international experiences.

And Barry Carol says:

As I understand it, the German population is generally satisfied with their healthcare and health insurance system. However, people can opt out and access more comprehensive private insurance if they want to and can afford to. About 10% of the population chooses the private system. One way or another, the wealthy and upper middle class will always be able to trade up creating, in effect, a two tier system. Personally, I don’t have any problem with that as long as what’s available to the bulk of the population is widely perceived as “good enough.”

Here is my reply, to you and to her:

Dear nonlocal,

It is not a question of doing better: It is the political imperative at work. My purpose in writing about all this was to describe the natural sequence of events.

As Barry suggests, people are generally content with this kind of system. The broad base of the population, the voters, gets security and a plan that is "good enough." The wealthy buy the "upper tier" plan.

It's the same as coach and first class on airplanes; Ford and Lexus in cars; McDonald's and luxury restaurants.

For years, we have rationed primary care in the US based on income. Now, like Europe, it will be reversed: We will ration high-end care based on income.

An underlying problem remains: There is little about the new order here in the US nor the European system that has dealt with the need to improve quality, safety, transparency, and promote continuous process improvement. And so demographic cost pressures will continue to build on both sides of the Atlantic. Governments and other payers will try to use the hammer of rates and regulatory changes to accomplish the kind of process improvement that can truly create better value for the population. That will fail. Those changes should come from the medical profession, but that profession has been recalcitrant and engaged in denial. We have seen that over and over: "The data are wrong" or "Our patients are sicker."

Changes are most likely to come as a result of strong advocacy from patients who are more and more empowered because of the internet and social media. In health care, the future is Egypt -- if and when the patient advocacy community gets its act together.

Places like Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the Joint Commission will finally succeed at their jobs when they facilitate the engagement of those thousands of people throughout the country. But you can not "own" those individuals or prescribe the approach that should be taken: You have to cede control of the agenda to let the wisdom of the crowd come through.