New Beginnings: The Real High Cost of Healthcare

As many of you already know I am no longer a "hands on nurse."  This was my second official day in Nursing Administrating.  So far so good.  I was really nervous about giving up clinical practice, but after today, I decided that it's ok.  I can use all that knowledge that I've worked so hard for the last 17 years (I'm counting nursing school in there) and put it to really good use.  My official title is Sr. RN Charge Capture Analyst and today I felt like I proved that I was worthy of such a lofty title.  It was so nice to be respected for all that I know and looked to when trying to wade through some very complicated surgical procedures. I've never been prouder of the job I'm doing.  I remarked once that I was going to use this job to try and untangle the health care debacle one surgical record at a time.  Surgery is a huge money maker for a hospital, but I think sometimes we tireless healthcare workers, and I'm talking about my colleagues who are elbow deep in it everyday, are often blamed for the high cost of what happens when we enter the hospital to be treated for what ails us.  Honestly, I swear it's not us.  We are there helping to make our patients better and looking in every nook and cranny for cost savings to pass on to them.  Now I get the chance to prove that by the job I'm doing.  I'm still looking in every nook and cranny for cost savings for our patients.

Oddly enough, it's not the band-aids and the everyday items that are expensive and drive up the cost of health care it's the pens and the do-dads that the sales reps from the drug and gadget companies hand out to the nurses and doctors that are part of the rising cost of health care.  I know it sounds crazy, but if you look at the cost of pens, flashlights and key chains (I'm talking about the good ones) you'll see.  It adds up.  I don't take those things from the reps.  Some people call it "advertising", I think it's like "nurse/dr. crack".  The reps bring in a swanky pen for everyone and there you go -- it takes $$ to purchase those things, even in bulk and guess who pays?  Yep, the cost of the gadget or drug gets passed on to the patients, and that includes the "advertising."  My health system might just have eliminated the pen problem, because we just implemented an electronic charting system called Epic, and it is.  It's so much easier to account for everything and I know in the long run it will save our patients money. Incorrect charges can be immediately identified and corrected before the patients ever get the bill.  Hopefully,  when they get their bill, it will be easy to read and hopefully accurate as to amount.  So the next time you are in the drug store and some drug company is handing out pens, just say no thanks.  Sooner or later they'll get the message, and maybe if enough health systems adopt an electronic charting system like Epic then pens will become obsolete in the medical profession and we can all rest easier when we have to go to the hospital!
Cheers!