The news is filled with talk about health care lately. Most of the discussion centers on the cost of buying health care coverage and who should have it. But there isn't much talk about how good the health care you receive really is. This is an important part of the equation.Right now, health care providers get paid for the visit, the event, or the test (ie, an office visit, a surgery or an x-ray). It doesn't much matter if you get better or not. Either way, the doctor is paid for his/her time not the outcome.
Some people would like to change the current system so that health providers would get paid based on the outcome of their work. Hospitals who have higher success rates for surgeries would be paid more. It sounds like a great idea but how would a patient know which hospitals or doctors have better success rates? There isn't one place you can go to be able to compare or rate health providers.
Most people use personal referrals, recommendations from docs you trust and even their own experience to choose their health care providers (hospital, doctor, labs). But there are some very good websites where you can compare the outcomes for various doctors and hospitals.
www.healthgrades.com
consumer reports
medicare.gov - hospital compare
Doing some homework could beforehand could actually make you healthier! Being informed allows you to choose a quality hospital or doctor with a higher probability fora successful recovery.
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