Piper Report
Blog on Medicare, Medicaid, pharma, biotech, health reform, and more. Insights and resources on hot issues. Kip Piper, editor.
Kip Piper, Editor
Health care strategist, speaker, and writer. Expert on Medicare, Medicaid, and pharma, biotech, and device industries. President, Health Results Group LLC. Senior Counselor, Fleishman-Hillard. Senior Consultant, Sellers Dorsey. Visit KipPiper.com. Or email Kip here.
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Medicare and Quality of Care: Good News, Bad News
posted: May 6, 2005

In Case of Emergency, Push Button.jpgQuality of care in the federal Medicare program remains poor. New evidence shows a wide range of serious, often worsening problems in the physician and hospital care received by America’s 41 million Medicare beneficiaries.

The bad news includes (1) increases in preventable medical mistakes; (2) inadequate screening and treatment of colorectal cancer, hypertension, depression, high cholesterol, and urinary incontinence; and (3) wide, unjustified geographic and racial disparities in quality of care received.

There is some good news, including more preventive services and modest improvements in inpatient care of heart attacks and outpatient care of diabetes.

Medicare, of course, does not operate in a vacuum. Medicare beneficiaries suffer from the consequences of poor quality, inefficiency, and outdated systems just like the rest of us. The costs – in lost lives, suffering, and wasted dollars – are staggering. And while progress is slow, Medicare has begin several initiatives to improve care.

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Consider This
In ancient China, physicians were paid only when their patients were kept well and often not paid if the patient got sick. If a patient died, a special lantern was hung outside the doctor's house. Upon each death, another lantern was added. This is the first known use of the two most powerful drivers for health care performance - incentives and transparency.
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Kevin 'Kip' Piper
Kip Piper
Editor (on a real good day)

Watson the Dog
Watson Piper
Managing Editor
Profile of Kip Piper

Healthcare Consultant
President of Health Results Group LLC. Senior counselor with Fleishman-Hillard, the top public relations and communications consultancy. Senior consultant with Sellers Dorsey, the leading Medicaid and health reform consultancy.

Expertise
Leading authority on Medicare, Medicaid, and pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industry issues. Policy, finance, coverage, reimbursement, health and drug benefits, marketing, business development, innovation, and public affairs.

Strategic Advisor
Advised Fortune 100 companies, pharma and biotech firms, medical device firms, top federal officials, governors, members of Congress, foundations, and foreign leaders. Skilled, creative business and policy strategist and problem solver.

Speaker
Popular speaker at health industry conferences. Topics include Medicare, pharma business issues, Medicaid reform, coverage and reimbursement, and health innovation. Keynotes, seminars, and briefings.

Thought Leader
Testified before Congressional committees, negotiated major legislation, led groundbreaking programs, and designed and implemented numerous health innovations.

Blogger
Editor of the Piper Report, a leading health care blog with thousands of regular readers. Medicare, Medicaid, pharma, biotech, and more. News, advice, solutions, and resources.

Writer
Upcoming books include Medicare and Medicaid from A to Z and MediStrategy: Medicare and Medicaid Business Strategies.

Editor
Business and policy editor of American Health & Drug Benefits, peer reviewed journal for decision makers in health plans, drug plans, PBMs, CMS, states, and large employers, with circulation of 30,000.

Learn More
To learn more, please visit Kip at www.kippiper.com.
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