Posted by
HvySlpr on Monday, March 03, 2008 4:16:34 PM
I read an interesting article this week in Forbes magazine, entitled
Bad Medicine, by David Whelan. It talked about failing hospitals in the United States and what little is being done to help the situation, as far as government is concerned.
According to the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths: “[You are] five times more likely to die from visiting a hospital than from not having health insurance.”
Don’t get me wrong, the last thing I want is for government to get involved in healthcare. What I want is for them to STOP getting involved in healthcare.
Specialty Hospital: A center that focuses on the care of a particular body part, such as the heart, spine, or joints, or on a specific disease, such as cancer.
Currently there are 60,000 hospitals overall in the United States, and only 200 specialty hospitals, however, according to Forbes:
The University of Iowa did a study and found that “complication rates are 40% lower for hip and knee surgeries at specialty hospitals than at big community hospitals.”
Medicare says that “patients of all types are four times as likely to die in a full service hospital after orthopedic surgery as they would after the same procedure in a specialty hospital.
HealthGrades, a quality review firm that ranks hospitals by their complication and morality rates explains that three of the nation’s top ten cardiac programs are specialty hospitals, and three of the top ten hospitals in the U.S. for joint replacement are specialty hospitals.
Apparently, these numbers just aren’t good enough for the hypocrites in D.C., who have repeatedly blocked the expansion of these specialty hospitals, at the behest of wealthy lobbying firms representing corporate hospitals across the U.S. In 2003, “congress effectively banned new physician-owned specialty hospitals,” according to Forbes.
Representative Fortney “Pete” Stark Jr., Democrat-CA, said that “[These doctors] (referring to doctors who own specialty hospitals) make enough money.”
You’re right Pete, doctors making a lot of money, who ever heard of such a thing? Scandalous. We should punish these greedy s.o.b.’s, regardless if it hurts patients, diminishes competition, and adds to your socialist agenda…like it or not.
Read the article here: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0310/086.html