Reducing Costs And Improving The Quality Of Healthcare

A recent study by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation reported that the United States has one of the highest costs of healthcare in the world. Despite spending significantly more on healthcare compared to other nations, the U.S. still doesn’t have better healthcare outcomes. In fact, the U.S. has a lower life expectancy rate and a higher rate of excess mortality than other comparable countries. This dilemma baffles many – and for good reason. How could we possibly spend more than other nations on healthcare, but the quality of said healthcare is worse? It’s a difficult question to answer, one that has many contributing factors, and not all of them are within the healthcare system’s control. However, there are a few things that are within the industry’s control – things like an internal attempt to balance cost reduction with quality improvement wherever necessary. By reducing costs and improving the quality of healthcare, the patient experience can improve.

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation study also reported that the average healthcare spend per person is about $12,900 per person. While some individuals may incur more costs and others may incur less, many healthcare problems are preventable through quality care, resulting in a cost reduction. If an individual never experiences a preventable healthcare event, they will never incur the costs of said healthcare. Additionally – lower-quality care actually increases the cost of healthcare altogether. The World Health Organization reported that adverse effects due to unsafe care is likely one of the top 10 leading causes of death and disability in the entire world. They also reported that up to 4 in 10 patients globally are harmed in primary and outpatient health care and that up to 80% of harm is preventable. Focusing on improving quality care is one of the many ways to lower healthcare costs.

No healthcare organization wants to be directly responsible for bringing harm to their patients. Causing harm to patients goes directly against the Hippocratic Oath – a creed that all doctors swear to before becoming practicing physicians. One of the most important promises within the Hippocratic Oath is “primum non nocere” or “First, do no harm.” Nurses swear by a similar oath known as the Nightingale Pledge, named after the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale. 

Why should we lower healthcare costs? Reducing costs and improving the quality of healthcare can improve patient quality of life and the U.S. economy. It can make the U.S. a safer place to live. By focusing on preventive care, healthcare providers can explain how improving quality can lead to reduced costs over the long term.

Strategies To Reduce Healthcare Costs

How to reduce healthcare costs in hospitals and other healthcare settings is one of the most pressing questions in the healthcare industry. It is an indisputable fact that providing care incurs costs and that doctors, nurses, and other healthcare administrators must be paid for their work. However, there are strategies to reduce healthcare costs that focus on optimization and efficiency, providing better care at a lower cost. 

There are many ideas and theories on ways to control the rising cost of healthcare in the United States. Not all hospital cost reduction strategies are viable, and not all of them would work equally if applied across every kind of healthcare organization. To begin, let’s answer this question: what are three ways to reduce healthcare costs and improve patient quality?

1. Emphasize preventative care and early prevention.

Many kinds of expensive healthcare issues are a result of catching the problem too late, such as cancer or organ failure. Shifting focus from expensive treatments to preventative care and early intervention can help reduce costs in the long run. By promoting health behaviors, routine screenings, and early detection of illness, healthcare providers can prevent or manage conditions before they become more costly to treat.

2. Encourage transparency and consumer engagement.

Increasing transparency about healthcare costs and outcomes empowers patients to make more informed decisions. Providing accessible information about the quality and cost of healthcare services allows patients to choose providers who offer high-quality care at a reasonable cost. Engaging patients in shared decision-making and promoting health literacy can also lead to better healthcare choices and outcomes while reducing costs.

3. Implement health information technology.

Adopting electronic health records (EHRs) and health information exchange systems can improve communication among healthcare providers and reduce medical errors. Access to comprehensive patient data can enable more informed decision-making, reduce redundant tests, and improve overall care quality. 

While there are many other innovative ways to reduce healthcare costs, any organization can make a start at optimizing and streamlining its current processes. 

Benefits Of Reducing Healthcare Costs

Cost-effectiveness in nursing has many benefits for patients, healthcare workers, and the healthcare industry as a whole. The benefits of reducing healthcare costs impact everyone, from patients to hospital owners. 

Cost-effective care can result in reduced administrative burden. Creating cost-effective care often involves streamlining administrative processes, eliminating unnecessary paperwork, and reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies. How can healthcare organizations use clinical data to increase quality while reducing costs? Using technology to parse through information to discover what is really important can alleviate the administrative burden on healthcare workers, allowing them to focus more on patient care and clinical decision-making. 

Another benefit of cost-effective care for the healthcare industry is improved collaboration and teamwork. Cost-effective care requires effective communication and collaboration among team members. This promotes interdisciplinary teamwork, coordination, and information sharing. This can lead to better patient outcomes and a more cohesive and supportive work environment for healthcare workers.

The benefits of providing more cost-effective care to patients are immense. One of the biggest benefits of cost reduction is improved affordability. Lowering healthcare costs can make healthcare services more accessible to individuals and families, especially those who have limited access to financial resources. Thanks to this new accessibility, patients can afford to receive more preventative care, which helps to keep healthcare costs low and prevent health issues from spiraling. This helps to reduce the cost of healthcare without compromising patients’ health and safety.

Another benefit of reduced healthcare costs overall is the positive impact on the economy. Reduced healthcare expenditures can free up resources that can be directed toward other sectors, contributing to economic growth and development. Additionally, individuals and families with reduced healthcare costs have more disposable income, which can stimulate consumer spending and support local economies.

One popular theory for reducing healthcare costs is implementing universal healthcare. How will universal healthcare reduce medical costs? The implementation of universal health care can increase administrative efficiency, create bulk purchasing power, focus on preventative care, and improve access to primary care physicians that help detect health problems in early onset.

Impact Of Technology On Healthcare Cost And Quality

Another strategy for reducing healthcare costs is to leverage technology. How can technology reduce healthcare costs? For starters, many healthcare costs are incurred through inefficient administrative processes. There are many kinds of technology that can be used in healthcare to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs.

For example, electronic health records, or EHRs, are digital systems that store and manage patients’ medical records, including medical history, diagnoses, medications, and test results. They enable secure access, sharing, and retrieval of patient information among healthcare providers. Digital access to this information means that it can be relayed one time and available for time to come across providers, reducing the risk of misunderstanding and miscommunication. 

Technology is already in use in the healthcare industry every day and has impacted millions of people. How has technology affected access to medical care? Telehealth and telemedicine are types of technology that create wider access to medical care because they are done remotely. Many patients have barriers to leaving their homes for whatever reason – they may be physically or mentally unable to bring themselves to a healthcare provider. Telehealth and telemedicine provide care access to those patients within their own homes. Because of this, ancillary costs are reduced, preventative care is prioritized, and unnecessary emergency visits are prevented. This is just one example of reducing healthcare costs through technology.

The impact of technology on healthcare costs and quality cannot be overstated. While many parts of the healthcare industry still have a long way to go when it comes to effectively leveraging technology, the proper use of technology in healthcare can begin reducing costs and improving the quality of patient outcomes.

The cost of technology in healthcare can vary. There are many different kinds of healthcare technology, so it’s important for healthcare organizations to choose the technology that fits their needs and can have the greatest impact on their employees and patients.

How Can The Government Reduce Healthcare Costs

According to a study conducted by the American Health Association in 2022, there are just over 6,000 hospitals in the United States. Almost 50% of all hospitals in the U.S. are nonprofits, which are deeply involved with governmental rules and regulations. Around 20% of hospitals in the U.S. are owned and operated by the government directly, whether that is the local, state, or federal government. How can the government reduce healthcare costs across the board? In many instances, this is a political question. How to reduce healthcare costs in America is a question that presidential campaigns are conducted on. 

Without getting into specific policies or theories as to how and when healthcare costs can be reduced by the government, there are several ways that the government can encourage reduced costs of healthcare in the U.S. The first is one we’ve mentioned several times – preventative care. Emphasizing preventative care can help identify and address health issues before they become severe and costly to treat. By investing in preventative public health campaigns, education programs, and initiatives to encourage regular screenings and healthy lifestyle choices, healthcare costs as a whole can be reduced. Preventative care and telehealth are just a few cost-effective care examples. Cost-effective care in nursing examples includes patient education, careful monitoring, preventative measures, and efficient communication.

There are some who are advocates for healthcare reform across the country. How does healthcare reform affect nurses? Some healthcare reform initiatives emphasize the adoption of new care delivery models, such as accountable care organizations or patient-centered medical homes. These models emphasize coordinated and team-based care, where nurses play crucial roles in coordination, patient education, and promoting preventative care.