Some months ago I wrote a post on TMT syndrome. It raised the interest of some followers and I was asked to prepare a larger op-ed for a bulletin (in spanish):
El síndrome TMT ante la destrucción creativa
Hoy en día podemos conocer con precisión las preferencias de lectura en una revista electrónica; podemos identificar cuántos acceden a ella y así nos podemos aproximar a las preocupaciones de los lectores. Health Affairs es una revista de referencia en política y gestión sanitaria y, en el ranking de artículos leídos en 2013, la primera posición la ocupa una revisión sobre una asignatura pendiente: la adopción de las tecnologías de la información en el sector salud [1]. El artículo se pregunta si las tecnologías de la información en Estados Unidos están interconectadas, ampliamente implantadas, utilizadas adecuadamente y si se ha producido el cambio organizativo esperado. La respuesta a cada cuestión es simplemente negativa. Y como todo artículo que desea resumir algo complejo en cinco páginas y recurre a generalizaciones, la conclusión a la que llega es parcial. Porque hay una gran mayoría de tareas pendientes por hacer y también hay otras que ya se han hecho y fueron publicadas en el propio Health Affairs cuatro años antes, como es el caso, por ejemplo, de Kaiser Permanente [2]. La barrera fundamental a la adopción de la tecnología tiene que ver con la organización y los incentivos. Entornos de atención fragmentada y con pago por acto médico tienen todos los ingredientes necesarios para que la adopción de tecnologías de la información se deje para otro día.
La tecnología está disponible, la organización está llamada a prepararse para adoptarla, pero en muchos casos, los incentivos escasean. De lo mucho que hay escrito al respecto, me sigue interesando el libro que coordinó Louise Liang desde Kaiser Permanente [3]. En él, los protagonistas de la experiencia de implantación de la historia clínica electrónica describen su visión y las perspectivas de futuro. Los últimos capítulos interesan en especial. Cuando el uso de aplicaciones móviles parece que sea el próximo milagro para la salud [4], David Eddy y Louise Liang se olvidan de ello y se concentran en explicar la importancia de las trayectorias en enfermos crónicos y los modelos probabilísticos que hay detrás del “Archimedes Model”. Todo dirigido a un solo objetivo: mejorar la toma de decisiones compartidas entre médico y paciente. De este modo, llegan al núcleo esencial del valor potencial de las tecnologías de la información: mejorar las decisiones y mejorar el proceso de atención.
Estoy convencido que estamos en el sector salud ante el síndrome TMT (too much technology, demasiada tecnología). Las organizaciones son incapaces de digerir la transformación potencial que tiene implicaciones cruciales en el coste y en la calidad. Los requisitos para que esta transformación sea efectiva se han descrito en múltiples ocasiones y ahora, en un contexto económico de límites a la inversión, puede que haya una barrera adicional a la organizativa.
En nuestro entorno próximo, hay casos ejemplares de adopción de historia clínica electrónica. Hay organizaciones que desde hace más de una década disponen de información digitalizada completa de la población que atienden [5], del mismo modo que hay entornos donde escasean ejemplos similares, como sucede en la sanidad privada.
La cuestión emergente es dilucidar hasta qué punto la digitalización generalizada en el sector salud será capaz de modificar ampliamente la “función de producción” de la salud tal como la conocemos hasta ahora. Con ello quiero referirme fundamentalmente a la asistencia sanitaria y a los comportamientos saludables.
Eric Topol ha sido capaz de resumir en un libro lo que está sucediendo y lo que puede suceder [6]. Más allá de confirmar las tendencias conocidas y sus implicaciones, al final, cuando llega al capítulo sobre la necesaria “plasticidad de los médicos”, nos muestra el panorama al que las organizaciones, los profesionales y el regulador han de enfrentarse próximamente.
En el capítulo relativo al “homo digitus”, nos aporta su conclusión: “La especie humana está digitalizando la propia especie, este es el agente último de cambio de la vida. Y esto va más allá de un simple cambio, es la esencia de la destrucción creativa que conceptualizó Schumpeter”. ¿Seguiremos en medio del síndrome TMT o finalmente entraremos en un proceso de destrucción creativa? Si alguien os plantea este dilema, desconfiad del reduccionismo; estoy convencido que estamos en medio del proceso, aunque no podemos dilucidarlo.
Referencias
[1] Kellermann AL, Jones SS (2013). What it will take to achieve the as-yet-unfulfilled promises of health information technology. Health Affairs, 32(1):63-8.
[2] Chen C, Garrido T, Chock D, Okawa G, Liang L (2009). The Kaiser Permanente Electronic Health Record: transforming and streamlining modalities of care. Health Affairs, 28(2):323-33.
[3] Liang LL, ed. (2010). Connected for Health: Using Electronic Health Records to Transform Care Delivery. San Francisco CA: Jossey-Bass.
[4] The Economist (2014). Health and happiness. 1st February.
[5] Saigí F (2007). La informatització de la informació sanitària: projectes i experiències d’història clínica compartida. Vol. 1, Cap 4. En: Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Generalitat de Catalunya. Projecte Internet Catalunya. Modernització tecnològica, canvi organitzatiu i serveis als usuaris en el sistema de salut de Catalunya. Barcelona: UOC.
[6] Topol E (2012). The Creative Destruction of Medicine: How the Digital Revolution Will Create Better Health Care. New York: Basic Books.
22 d’abril 2014
16 d’abril 2014
Is it possible to internalize externalities of risky behavior?
Risking Your Health. Causes, Consequences, and Interventions to Prevent Risky Behaviors
Behaviour Change
Today I bring a World Bank Report and a UK Parliament report, both on behaviour. The first is closely related to developing countries, though the same messages are for developed ones. I don't know who exactly is paying the bill for such risky behaviours. Measures to internalize externalities are not so easy to implement, though the document explains some of them.
The second report is an introduction to behavioral economics for politicians. I'm convinced that we do need to know more about this, although there is no unifying theory and prescriptions are fuzzy by now.
PS. Today we can confirm that Google scans your gmail messages.
PS. Today we can also confirm again that internet is an unsafe network
PS. Bloomberg on behavioral finance.
Behaviour Change
Today I bring a World Bank Report and a UK Parliament report, both on behaviour. The first is closely related to developing countries, though the same messages are for developed ones. I don't know who exactly is paying the bill for such risky behaviours. Measures to internalize externalities are not so easy to implement, though the document explains some of them.
The second report is an introduction to behavioral economics for politicians. I'm convinced that we do need to know more about this, although there is no unifying theory and prescriptions are fuzzy by now.
PS. Today we can confirm that Google scans your gmail messages.
PS. Today we can also confirm again that internet is an unsafe network
PS. Bloomberg on behavioral finance.
15 d’abril 2014
The home and the neighborhood
Transforming Specialty Practice — The Patient-Centered Medical Neighborhood
The coordination of health services requires intense relationships between primary and specialized care. Though this is obvious, sometimes there is a need to insist on it. And this is precisely what an article at NEJM does. It explains the components to assess the Patient centered medical home and the patient centered specialty practice.
This is a US style organizational design, although some european private organizations should keep an eye on such developments. The current organization of private practice is too far from the requirements of a modern practice of medicine and to fulfill patient expectations. The pressures for organizational change unfortunately will not arise from inside, the confort zone always plays its role.
PS. Video on low value care and how to avoid it, at NEJM.
The coordination of health services requires intense relationships between primary and specialized care. Though this is obvious, sometimes there is a need to insist on it. And this is precisely what an article at NEJM does. It explains the components to assess the Patient centered medical home and the patient centered specialty practice.
This is a US style organizational design, although some european private organizations should keep an eye on such developments. The current organization of private practice is too far from the requirements of a modern practice of medicine and to fulfill patient expectations. The pressures for organizational change unfortunately will not arise from inside, the confort zone always plays its role.
PS. Video on low value care and how to avoid it, at NEJM.
14 d’abril 2014
The Health of Catalans
La salut de la població de Catalunya en el context europeu
Comparing population health between countries allows to understand the scope of the differences. Some of them are unwarranted and others require an explanation. Anyway, it is good to confirm in a new report that the health of catalans has achieved a top level in Europe. The key indicator is healthy live years. As a summary it works, but when you go into details, then some problems arise: obesity, tobacco, colon cancer, diabetes,...
Comparing public expenditures , Catalonia spends less than other countries with similar GDP. And the opposite is true for private expenditures (p.16). Unfortunately, data is from 2010 and things have changed a lot, on GDP and health expenditure. My guess is that right now we are spending publicly a larger percentage than 6%. An update is needed in order to know better our current position.
Comparing population health between countries allows to understand the scope of the differences. Some of them are unwarranted and others require an explanation. Anyway, it is good to confirm in a new report that the health of catalans has achieved a top level in Europe. The key indicator is healthy live years. As a summary it works, but when you go into details, then some problems arise: obesity, tobacco, colon cancer, diabetes,...
Comparing public expenditures , Catalonia spends less than other countries with similar GDP. And the opposite is true for private expenditures (p.16). Unfortunately, data is from 2010 and things have changed a lot, on GDP and health expenditure. My guess is that right now we are spending publicly a larger percentage than 6%. An update is needed in order to know better our current position.
10 d’abril 2014
A pivotal moment in the history of medicine
What the Tamiflu saga tells us about drug trials and big pharma
Today the long article by Ben Goldacre published in The Guardian is a required reading. Those that have some doubts regarding the effectiveness of oseltamivir will see them vanishing. The Cochrane review explains the size of side effects and controversies that have surrounded such drug since flu pandemic in 2009.
The most important message goes beyond tamiflu, it is related to transparency in drug trials:
Today the long article by Ben Goldacre published in The Guardian is a required reading. Those that have some doubts regarding the effectiveness of oseltamivir will see them vanishing. The Cochrane review explains the size of side effects and controversies that have surrounded such drug since flu pandemic in 2009.
The most important message goes beyond tamiflu, it is related to transparency in drug trials:
This is a pivotal moment in the history of medicine. Trials transparency is finally on the agenda, and this may be our only opportunity to fix it in a decade. We cannot make informed decisions about which treatment is best while information about clinical trials is routinely and legally withheld from doctors, researchers, and patients. Anyone who stands in the way of transparency is exposing patients to avoidable harm. We need regulators, legislators, and professional bodies to demand full transparency. We need clear audit on what information is missing, and who is withholding it.
Finally, more than anything – because culture shift will be as powerful as legislation – we need to do something even more difficult. We need to praise, encourage, and support the companies and individuals who are beginning to do the right thing.
07 d’abril 2014
04 d’abril 2014
A primer on health economics and policy
Social values in health and social care
In just 38 pages Tony Culyer explains the basics of health policy. It is not a review, these are a collection of key insights that basically come from his book. This is the outline:
.
In just 38 pages Tony Culyer explains the basics of health policy. It is not a review, these are a collection of key insights that basically come from his book. This is the outline:
- Introduction
- Liberalism versus libertarianism
- The market versus the state
- Public versus private insurance
- Equity versus equality
- Inequalities of health versus inequalities of health care
- Equity versus efficiency
- Needs versus wants
- Prices versus rationing
- Financial protection versus quality of life
- Public versus private
- Agents versus principals
- Universality versus selectivity
- Comprehensiveness versus limited benefit bundles
- Centralisation versus decentralisation
- Competition versus collaboration
- Experts versus citizens
- Mixing values and other things
- Key messages
Cost is also a value and no mere matter of accountancy. If we introduce a newMany politicians don't want to hear such messages. I stronlgy suggest you to read this booklet from Kings' Fund.
health care procedure, the cost will have to come out of expenditure elsewhere
in the NHS –unless there is a concurrent increase in the NHS budget. But less
expenditure elsewhere will normally imply reduction of service elsewhere and
a consequential health loss. The true cost of getting more care (and hence
health) in one area of activity is therefore the minimum necessary loss of care
(and loss of health) elsewhere. This is the important notion of opportunity cost.
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