Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Uncle Sam Gets it Right
Considering how reliably the Federal Government fucks things up, especially when money is involved and even more when the military is doing the spending, this report on the VA's diabetes management system is both a relief and generally a Good Thing.
One of the major problems in health care today is making sure everyone gets the right treatments and tests, without going overboard and overtreating (which is at best expensive, and at worst dangerous). The VA began a number of years ago implementing its electronic patient tracking systems, with a particular focus on diabetes as a 'target' disease. The results are in, and VA system works better than HMOs. This is being touted as evidence that a nationally funded health program is effective. So maybe we can get some momentum towards a real national health plan!
One of the major problems in health care today is making sure everyone gets the right treatments and tests, without going overboard and overtreating (which is at best expensive, and at worst dangerous). The VA began a number of years ago implementing its electronic patient tracking systems, with a particular focus on diabetes as a 'target' disease. The results are in, and VA system works better than HMOs. This is being touted as evidence that a nationally funded health program is effective. So maybe we can get some momentum towards a real national health plan!
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