I am fortunate enough to be a part of an organization that understands the importance of good planning. My team and I have been fortunate enough to experience a number of different health care systems, but I have always found a place where we have been able to work as a team to create an environment that keeps us healthy and productive. This has allowed us to be able to continue to grow and improve our lives, even working remotely to keep up with the latest industry trends.
I have heard from several different sources that the health care industry is becoming more and more complicated at a rapid rate and that there is a lack of adequate preparation and communication in the industry. There is an increase in the number of cases of health care workers being killed on the job, and unfortunately, there are many cases of patients having to deal with the aftermath of this tragedy. This problem is particularly prevalent in smaller companies whose employees are more likely to have less experience and less access to needed health care.
So what’s a corporate CEO to do? As the saying goes, “If you don’t know what to do, call in the professionals.” It’s easy to blame management for not properly preparing and communicating health care, but in the end, it’s the health care worker who should be blamed for not knowing what to do. It’s not his fault because he’s just not qualified or experienced enough to deal with all the details.
And guess what, it is the health care worker who needs to be the first on the phone when someone needs to be seen. In this way, in the health care industry, we know that the people most likely to have trouble are the ones who need to have the highest-level of care. And they’re the ones who might be the most vulnerable to fraud.
Fraud is probably one of the most common ways that people fail to get the health care they need. One of the more common forms is over-the-phone billing. In the U.S., over-the-phone billing for health care is about the most common form of fraud. In fact, it is the second most common form of fraud after credit card fraud.
Here’s a quick word of caution though, all of this stuff is about health care, but in health care it can be easier to over-bill because the law makes it seem as though a bill would be paid for every visit. But in fact, the average cost of a visit can range from a few dollars to more than $20,000. That might sound like a lot, but its really not.
The problem with this is that it puts health care workers in a tough spot. If you find out that you have a medical condition, but the first place you go to take care of it is an emergency room, you could end up spending hundreds of dollars on a visit. They might ask you to fill out a bill, and you might have to sign it, or maybe they will just run a check and sign you right into the ER.
The problem is that the whole health care system in the United States is broken. It doesn’t have health insurance, it doesn’t let you use your car to get to work, it doesn’t allow for prescription drugs, it doesn’t have a decent doctor network, it doesn’t have a way to pay for your visit, and it doesn’t cover the costs of your ER visit.
Well, it’s not the worst thing we’ve ever said about the US health care system, but it is a bit depressing to read. We’re pretty sure that the system is at least in part to blame for our nation’s high rates of health-related morbidity and mortality.
It’s true that the US health care system is horrible. (I know, it’s not fair. It’s just a matter of perspective.) But here’s where it gets really depressing. It is a system designed for the lazy, the irresponsible, and the ill-informed. The people who put the system together are mainly (or mostly) wealthy and white, and they are generally not well educated about the issues involved.