50
2nd QUARTER 2014
have an easy way to securely communicate
with their physician, by email or a secure
video-chat, without the doctor needing to
schedule a full office visit in order to bill and
get some protection from malpractice claims.
Finally, all insurance plans should
provide free access to a network of “patient
advocates,” experts (experienced nurses
or primary care physicians) who can give
patients advice for sorting through their
options. For example, patients rely on their
oncologist to recommend expensive cancer
treatment, when an objective third party
might point out risks that outweigh benefits,
and an 89-year-old with end-stage heart
failure might conclude she really would not
gain much from an aggressive treatment of
chemotherapy for her cancer.
The federal government estimates that 80
percent of health care expenditures come
in the last month of life, and many patients
and their families might choose much less
expensive treatments, achieving improved
quality of life, instead of a few extra weeks in
the hospital. Patients could discuss options,
in person or via a secure video-chat, with
someone who isn’t subject to traditional
billing pressures.
I suspect these advisors would save far more
in medical costs than their salaries, and that
patients and their families would feel better
about their care if they really understood the
tradeoffs. Sometimes you really can reduce
costs and improve outcomes.
C
2 CFO CFO
CFO Studio Advisory Board & Technical Review Committee
Tim Anglim
>
YesCFO
Founder and President
Andrew Savadelis
Finance Executive
Michael Eldredge
>
American Sensor Technologies, Inc.
Chief Financial Officer
View profiles at
Bert Marchio
>
Edge Therapeutics
Chief Accounting & Operations Officer
Gerald Najarian
>
The Remington Group, LLC
Partner
ALL INSURANCE PLANS SHOULD PROVIDE FREE ACCESS TO A
NETWORK OF “PATIENT ADVOCATES.”
MAKING HEALTH CARE
AFFORDABLE
