QUALITY / ISSUES (Q/I)
Technology has been identified as one of the primary contributors to
the increase in health care costs. This technology includes equipment
(e.g. scanners), processes (e.g. transplants), and medications (e.g.
prescription drugs). In
some years it has been found to be the largest contributor to increased
costs.
Technology generally improves the outcomes of health care. Thus new
technology
has, overall, meant improvements in the objective of quality at the
expense
of the objective of cost control.
But technology can also reduce health care costs, as has been the case
for the polio vaccine and many other immunizations. The increased
concerns about costs have produced new interests in using quality
improvements to reduce costs. These interests include (but are not
limited to) the substitution of
medications for surgeries, new equipment and procedures for less
invasive surgeries, and improvements in practice patterns. The (for further information) I.O.M. attention to medical errors hopes
to show possibilities of improving quality as well as saving costs.