You're watching...
Deloitte Center for Health Solutions’ Dr. Harry Greenspun on the rise in Medicare costs despite the use of electronic medical records.
Also in this playlist...
Auto-advance: ON
Auto-advance
This transcript is automatically generated
-- today's -- the idea transitioning medical records to electronic systems obvious -- the new system could actually be putting a hole in your wallet and here's how.
The New York Times did the study showing that hospitals.
Got of dollars more Medicare reimbursements in 2010 and five years earlier and it look like -- some of it may be due to increase medical costs.
-- it could just be fraud to find out return to -- Greenspan -- Advisor -- health care transformation and technology at the Deloitte center for health solutions there's no week if at all that one business card deadlock.
And anyway.
Ask if so what are the big.
Incentives in order to adopt electronic records which like we said makes a whole lot of sense in this -- -- -- But the hospitals that -- those incentives showed a 47%.
Rise in Medicare payments in that time period.
While the hospitals that didn't use those electronic records only sought 32% rise and they charged 15% more -- supposed to be more efficient.
I mean I would've expected the hospitals that were using electronic records -- to have lower costs what's what's the problem you think.
What we believe -- Break it down understand where those numbers -- coming from there are some of it certainly could be fraud confronts an important part of our health care -- about three to 10% of what we spend on health care.
Another issue though is -- -- do things electronically you may be capturing more accurately the sort of work that's being done so it's hard to tease apart.
-- what's really happening with some of those place.
Well then let's let's -- down on some of the specifics -- I'm certainly prepared for that.
Some of the most aggressive building came from -- 17100.
Up more than 440.
Thousand doctors -- just a tiny fraction of those doctors.
Eight up a hundred million dollars in 2010 alone.
How is that possible I mean do you think that that's a result those 17100 doctors that are results.
That they were generally.
General practitioners.
And they -- in the ER.
Yet again it's -- did get to the specifics you'll have to understand what was going on what's interesting though is that by implement electronic health records on only -- potentially have the ability to create fraud.
Which also have a much better wave investigating it.
In -- similarly when no we look at -- college students commending plagiarism we worry about the music computers to do that.
At the same time we have tools now because those and that is racial what yeah.
-- understand who's committing that kind of plagiarism.
What does this -- whistle blower in this case who I'm was an emergency room physician at Methodist medical center and Illinois.
He said the new system prompted doctors to click on a box that indicated a thorough review patients' symptoms had taken place.
Even though these exams are rarely performed and that care jumped to more than 80% in 2010 at getting this a valuation code.
-- only 50% -- just as soon as they put this computer program in place and he says it urged you.
To -- that -- just move on and and he was -- wasn't worries a lot of we're just clicking it.
To keep going and that resulted -- -- of billing.
At this one hospital in particular.
Yeah -- yeah I mean it's hard to get caught up in justices have a single case who have to remember that we've got a you know.
30% of our health care dollar overweights -- the -- recent studies that's about 750 billion dollars now fraud waste and abuse represents a small part of that.
But in order to really make some headway on everything from inefficient care -- -- improper diagnoses.
Men and lack of coordinating care we've got to have electronic medical records is a foundation to move that forward.
Yeah I mean I certainly believe in medical records because electronic is most efficient way to do anything apparently it's the most efficient way.
To build a government perhaps to have fraudulently I don't know but it will have to discuss -- more another time thank you for coming on.
