It doesn't solve everything but it should help to simplify matters greatly.
What would help too is ubiquitous electronic records management, e.g., any records from a visit with one doctor should be usable by the patient at another doctor.
Add to that cheaper testing and more AI / self-help and that should take it even further.
Lastly, kill the corn lobby and get some real sense into people about how their diet and lifestyle directly impact their health. What percentage of US healthcare costs are going towards diabetes and any related illnesses? And what percentage of that is directly related to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle?
Electronic Health Records are harder to implement than you'd expect. HIPAA sets really harsh penalties for violations that can occur much more easily if hospitals and doctors provide open access to other facilities. Organizations are also often reluctant to provide their data to other facilities because of a perception that it will lead to a loss of competitive advantage. Add to that the typical problems of cross-vendor interfacing between organizations.
That said, EHRs are definitely the way to go, and we'll see much more of them in the future. Once Stage 2 of Meaningful Use[1] kicks in, you'll see a bunch of hospitals scrambling to upgrade their IT infrastructure to make sure they continue to receive the bonus Medicare/Medicaid payouts they're receiving now.
What would help too is ubiquitous electronic records management, e.g., any records from a visit with one doctor should be usable by the patient at another doctor.
Add to that cheaper testing and more AI / self-help and that should take it even further.
Lastly, kill the corn lobby and get some real sense into people about how their diet and lifestyle directly impact their health. What percentage of US healthcare costs are going towards diabetes and any related illnesses? And what percentage of that is directly related to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle?