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
    HIPPA compliance
    How Medical Office Staff Can Make Your Practice HIPAA Compliant
    October 29, 2021
    Everything you need to know about hyaluronic acid treatment
    Everything you need to know about hyaluronic acid treatment
    February 10, 2022
    Which Mushroom Capsules Are Good for Your Health?
    May 5, 2022
    Latest News
    6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
    September 10, 2025
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 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
    Clinical Trials
    Can You Participate in a Clinical Trial?
    April 28, 2022
    5 Things to Take Care of When You Go Into Hospital
    July 24, 2020
    Pharmacists help you
    How A Pharmacist Can Help You
    November 28, 2022
    Latest News
    Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
    September 9, 2025
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: The Challenges of Health Care Cost Control
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 > Business > Hospital Administration > The Challenges of Health Care Cost Control
BusinessHospital AdministrationPolicy & Law

The Challenges of Health Care Cost Control

DavidEWilliams
DavidEWilliams
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

A MedPage Today post by what appears to be an informed consumer (and not a health care professional) provides a little peek into the factors that affect health care quality and cost. In Arriving at the ED, the author tries to figure out how she’d like to be transported to the emergency department if she thought she were having a heart attack. Since the hospital is a quarter mile away her inclination is to get their on her own or have a neighbor take her.

A MedPage Today post by what appears to be an informed consumer (and not a health care professional) provides a little peek into the factors that affect health care quality and cost. In Arriving at the ED, the author tries to figure out how she’d like to be transported to the emergency department if she thought she were having a heart attack. Since the hospital is a quarter mile away her inclination is to get their on her own or have a neighbor take her. But after reading the research and adding her anecdotal experience, she’s not sure what to do.

She cites a study demonstrating that it’s better for patients with suspected heart attack to arrive by ambulance. The researchers show that when patients arrive by ambulance they are likely to get faster treatment, whether measured by door to cath team activation, door to cath lab, or door to balloon. The key factor the researchers focused on was the use of EKG in the ambulance, which gave the ED team a head start on diagnosis once the patient arrived.

But the author has in the back of her mind a competing explanation:

More Read

Smokers Die Ten Years Sooner Than Nonsmokers
Parkinson’s Disease: 14 Early Warning Signs of Onset
Are Readmissions Always Bad?
Promote Your Research Departments, Promote Your Clinical Trial
Surgery Trumps Intensive Medical Therapy for Obese Diabetics

I know that even on a quiet Tuesday evening with nothing particular going on, you may find a great crowd of the sore, sick, lame, and disabled encamped there, all waiting for attention.

And on a busy, summer holiday weekend, forget about it.

I took my husband there once on the Fourth of July. Victims were streaming in from nearby parks and picnic grounds. The sun-poisoned, the bleeding, and those burned by charcoal grills packed the ED. Children climbed around on the plastic seats. Food was smuggled in from picnic coolers or fast food places down the road. Tempers flared as the wait dragged on. Busy staffers rushed back and forth.

Now, if I were to appear with my heart attack symptoms amid such a hubbub – short of my crumpling dramatically to the floor – would anyone notice me?

If I were her I would probably call the ambulance, even though they probably wouldn’t have time to do an EKG on such a short trip. And as a society we have to watch out for the cost and quality implications of patients starting to realize what a messy process the health care system is. We look for “patient engagement” as a key element of health care quality improvement, but what if it results in patients engaging in behaviors that are more costly to the system or disruptive?

 


TAGGED:ambulanceemergency roomhealth care policyhospitals
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

a woman walking on the hallway
6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
Health
September 9, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
Global Healthcare
September 9, 2025
travel nurse in north carolina
Balancing Speed and Scope: Choosing the Nursing Degree That Fits Your Goals
Nursing
September 1, 2025
intimacy
How to Keep Intimacy Comfortable as You Age
Relationship and Lifestyle Senior Care
September 1, 2025

You Might also Like

Health careSocial MediaWellness

9 Very Important Signs That It’s Time For An Eye Test

November 28, 2018

Threats of Nursing Home Lawsuits Do Not Improve Care

May 16, 2011
trauma costs
BusinessFinanceHospital Administration

Can We Squeeze the Waste Out of the High Cost of Trauma Care?

October 31, 2013

Problem for Women Who Can’t Afford Care

March 19, 2015
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?