Less Care May Be More Healthy

May 16, 2006

Researchers at Dartmouth Medical School report an interesting finding on healthcare spending for chronically ill patients: more money leads to worse care. Following three types of patients for up to five years after they suffered a heart attack, a fractured hip, or a colectomy for colon cancer, the researchers found that for each illness, the mortality rates for patients in the regions with the most intense care was higher.

“We must fundamentally redesign the way we care for chronically ill Americans,” said the authors of the report. “We must reward, rather than penalize provider organizations that successfully reduce excessive care and develop broader strategies for managing patients with chronic illness.”

The researchers concluded that the federal government could save tens of billions of dollars a year—and potentially improve care–if it took steps to prevent the overuse of health care and allocated resources more efficiently.