By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Can Thinking Younger Make You Live Longer?
    April 20, 2011
    Image
    Obesity’s Outlook Unchanged
    June 13, 2011
    When It’s An Emergency Elderly Not Treated As Well in Hospitals
    July 16, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Why Our HealthCare Spending Doesn’t Make Sense
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Public Health > Why Our HealthCare Spending Doesn’t Make Sense
BusinessPublic Health

Why Our HealthCare Spending Doesn’t Make Sense

Marya Zilberberg
Last updated: March 24, 2012 9:26 am
Marya Zilberberg
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

You know that joke about the drunk crawling around under a street light? A cop comes up to him and asks what he is doing. The drunk explains that he is looking for his wallet. The cop, getting ready to help the man, asks where exactly he dropped it. The drunk points to a distant corner of the dark side of the street. The cop, baffled, inquires why the man is looking here. With inimitable logic the drunk responds, “This is where the light is.”

You know that joke about the drunk crawling around under a street light? A cop comes up to him and asks what he is doing. The drunk explains that he is looking for his wallet. The cop, getting ready to help the man, asks where exactly he dropped it. The drunk points to a distant corner of the dark side of the street. The cop, baffled, inquires why the man is looking here. With inimitable logic the drunk responds, “This is where the light is.”

What does this story have to do with anything? Well, I went to a great HIT tweet-up in Cambridge yesterday, organized by Scratch Marketing and led by Janice McCallum. No, they did not at all remind me of the drunk in the joke. But the lively discussion about data by about two dozen attendees inspired by Janice’s thoughtful presentation certainly made me realize that our healthcare policy is like that drunk. Here is what I mean.

Our healthcare expenditures are completely devoid of any attempt at probabilistic thinking. I thought about the old Rand Corporation data, which I have presented here before. Juxtaposing them with the data on our National Healthcare Expenditures really drives home my message that we need to get a whole lot better at applying probabilities to our decisions. And this specifically applies to policy.
 
Just look at the glaring imbalance: while fully 60% of all premature deaths are due to behavioral, social and environmental factors which reside in the realm of public health, 97% of all NHE is spent on the medical side. If I add the 2% of the total NHE spent on research into the public health piece of the pie (this is exceedingly generous, as public health research gets a bafflingly tiny portion of the total US research budget), we still have 95% spent on personal health and its administration and only 5% on public health. 

So, if the probability of premature death due to a public health-related condition is 60%, why are we only spending 3% of all the healthcare dollars on fixing it? Another way of posing this question is, if the probability  of premature death from issues related to access to adequate medical care is 10%, why are we spending 97% of all the NHE on that piece of the pie?

More Read

electronic health records adoption
Is Meaningful Use Working? How Can Innovators Encourage EHR Adoption?
Pharma: Funding R&D: High Prices, Overuse A Failed Strategy
Tips for Older Travelers
The Elephant in the Room: Discussing Obesity with the Doctor
ACA: Why Repeal and Replace Is a Joke

If this isn’t just like that joke, I don’t know what is. Only in this case it is much less funny than in the case of the drunk.





TAGGED:healthcare costshealthcare spending
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Health
May 15, 2025
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction heart treatment
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction
Cardiology
May 13, 2025

You Might also Like

ACO Update: A Third Horse Enters the Race

November 18, 2011

Appeals Court Upholds Constitutionality of ACA

November 8, 2011

First Female to Be Nominated USAR Surgeon General

May 5, 2011

The Battle Over Avastin

July 1, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?