Marc Abear: Innovation and technology have not improved health care industry

To The Daily Sun,

Are hospitals today more effectively run than was the case before PPACA enactment? The Bureau of Labor Statistics has a graph of labor productivity for community hospitals. What the graph shows us is labor productivity for decades has been flat or negative. 

This is important because it means a doctor in 2022 has the same or less productivity than a doctor in 2000. This is unusual for any industry. The medical industry is full of innovation and technology. So, why is that not translating into productivity? Why aren't costs coming in line?

The health care delivery system has not changed. It has not benefited from innovation and technology. Innovation and technology have not made a significant difference to patients or service providers. If they had, cost would have come down, or time to serve per patient per procedure would have gone down. That’s what is required for productivity to rise — it hasn’t. 

Most of the innovation and technology has affected medical devices and pharmaceutical products. The health care delivery system makes up about half of what we loosely call health care. Nobody puts health care delivery under the microscope. 

If you do what you find is increased regulation, lots of government subsidy with strings, and market concentration. Doctors and hospitals are regulated, monopolists with government subsidy. Three quarter of hospitals are nonprofit, 501(c3) tax exempt corporations. Is it possible that is why productivity has not changed?

Aren’t these all the signs of a badly run organization protected by bureaucracy and government? The level of service in this service industry is terrible, but at least the cost rose 24.3% last year. But hey, those who wanted health care for everyone, do you see a doctor or an APRN? Just think about it. 

Marc Abear

Meredith