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Healthcare will grab more and more headlines in the UAE in the coming years. Business management already feels the effects of healthcare costs more acutely than most consumers. Some of us were interested primarily in the issue of cost escalation and how to contain it. Others addressed issues of quality. For still others, it was a matter of inequality of treatment. If this is a microcosm of current concerns and suggested solutions, does it bode well for the formation of a consensus, or otherwise, leading to progress? The causes of the current challenge of rapidly rising costs in relation to quality of outcomes, at least by the imperfect measure of life expectancy, included waste in the system as well as fraud , risk avoidance on the part of physicians, a litigious society, and inadequate protection from it for physicians , "defensive" medicine leading to unnecessary tests and treatments, an insurance system that is costly and inadequate for those who really need it , the high cost of new technology, artificial restrictions on the supply of drugs and healthcare providers , the size and complexity of the problem itself , government involvement , and uninformed or unnecessarily needy consumers comes freighted with a host of fundamental moral, ethical, and emotional issues that simply don't exist for other industries. Where to start? The only thing the government should be involved with is controlling the drug, insurance, and medical industry spending which would bring down costs. Another solution for the rising cost is national health insurance program. Until the UAE business community gets behind the economies and efficiencies of a national program, it simply isn't going to happen. The current system leaves millions in UAE without health insurance. Because many are not employed or have very low incomes, programs that provide incentives through employers and tax relief don't help them. With this much room for possible improvement, the incentives should be sufficient to foster changes in behavior. What can we learn from other countries in the delivery of high-quality healthcare? What do you think?
How Can Physicians Stay Current on Prescription Drugs
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