DC Medical Malpractice & Patient Safety Blog

The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, a research arm of the business consulting firm Deloitte LLP, recently surveyed consumers, physicians and employers about the U.S. health-care system. Although these groups often have competing interests and agendas, they shared a low opinion about health care in America.

As reported on MedCity News, 63 percent of consumers, 65 percent of physicians and 65 percent of employers gave the U.S. health-care system a grade of C or lower. The poor grades, the thinking goes, is due to the perception that the system is wasteful and lacks value—only 1 in 4 respondents to an earlier consumer survey said they got the best value for their money.

There were differences, however, among the survey groups. When asked if they agreed that health-care reform (commonly referred to as “Obamacare”) was a step in the right direction, 44 in 100 physicians said yes, 38 in 100 consumers did and 30 in 100 employers. Only 4 in 10 mid-sized and large companies said they were “well prepared” to implement the Affordable Care Act reforms of 2014.

Asked who was to blame as the single largest contributor to health-care costs, 8 in 10 employers and nearly 6 in 10 consumers said “hospital costs;” 7 in 10 physicians said “consumer behavior.” There's a credibility gap that needs exploring. Because physicians are the ones writing the orders for drugs, tests and procedures, it's a little hard to swallow the idea that insistent consumers are browbeating doctors into wasting money on unnecessary medical stuff.