It is likely that health care will be delivered free to patients (still) in the UK, but it is also likely that with the involvement of the private sector all patient related work will be charged: to the GPs and not the government.
With no limit as to where a patient needs to register, the system is going to be open to abuse; serious abuse.
It is singularly peculiar that governments do not seem to learn form the mistakes of others.
Money corrupts and I like to believe that most doctors are honourable and yet it is because of that that many do not realise how wicked a few of us could be.
In Best Health Care: Private Medicine, Porsche & The NHS
…..Then he started feeling dizzy and having some strange noise problems in one of his ears.
“I saw a wonderful ENT specialist within a week at the same private hospital whereas I would have to wait much longer in the NHS.”
What could one say! We are losing the funny game.
What does he drive?
A Carrera.
Another Porsche.
We are OK then.
Or are we.
He was not any better. And after eight months of fortnightly appointments, the Carrera doctor suggested a mastoidectomy.
Perhaps you should get a second opinion from an NHS consultant. Perhaps see a neurologist.
“I could not believe you said that, his two children are doctors. And he has private health care!” I was told off by my wife.
He took my advice though and he got an appointment within two weeks at one of the famous neurological units at a teaching hospital.
To cut the long story short, he has DAVF.
I asked my ENT colleague if it was difficult to diagnose DAVF.
Over in the US of A !!!
2008:
Medicare did not detect that more than one-third of spending for wheelchairs, oxygen supplies and other medical equipment in its 2006 fiscal year was improper, according to the report. Based on data in other Medicare reports, that would be about $2.8 billion in improper spending.
2009:
Arrests in three separate cases in Brooklyn, Detroit and Miami included a Florida doctor accused of running a $40 million home health care scheme that falsely listed patients as blind diabetics so he could bill for twice-daily nurse visits. Also>>>
But hospitals too:
>>>How about My bill from ….. for a $540 tongue depressor. Or one for a $270 2oz. cup of liquid Motrin?
>>>While she was in the hospital a few days old, we were charged for 11 pacifiers at a cost of $121.00 each.
>>>My 70 year old father was hospitalized with Legionnaires Disease. His hospital bill included a bill for a pap smear! His first name was Faye – the hospital must have assumed he was a woman and could scam the insurance company for the charge.
UNNECESSARY CARE (40% of healthcare waste): Unwarranted treatment, such as the over-use of antibiotics and the use of diagnostic lab tests to protect against malpractice exposure, accounts for $250 billion to $325 billion in annual healthcare spending.
FRAUD (19% of healthcare waste): Healthcare fraud costs $125 billion to $175 billion each year, manifesting itself in everything from fraudulent Medicare claims to kickbacks for referrals for unnecessary services.
ADMINISTRATIVE INEFFICIENCY (17% of healthcare waste): The large volume of redundant paperwork in the U.S healthcare system accounts for $100 billion to $150 billion in spending annually.
HEALTHCARE PROVIDER ERRORS (12% of healthcare waste): Medical mistakes account for $75 billion to $100 billion in unnecessary spending each year.
PREVENTABLE CONDITIONS (6% of healthcare waste): Approximately $25 billion to $50 billion is spent annually on hospitalizations to address conditions such as uncontrolled diabetes, which are much less costly to treat when individuals receive timely access to outpatient care.
LACK OF CARE COORDINATION (6% of healthcare waste): Inefficient communication between providers, including lack of access to medical records when specialists intervene, leads to duplication of tests and inappropriate treatments that cost $25 billion to $50 billion annually.
David Cameron, is this the way forward?
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