BASEBALL and HEALTHCARE

The Oct. 24th issue of the New York Times has an interesting article "How to Take American Health Care From Worst to First." In it the authors, Billy Beane, Newt Gingrich and John Kerry, note how the big payroll baseball teams are not in the World Series while the team with the second lowest payroll is. They attribute this to the fact that Tampa Bay uses a data-driven approach to decisions rather than the traditional approach that was based on a manager's experience and a few statistics.

The authors cite several examples that support their argument that "a health care system that is driven by robust comparative clinical evidence will save lives and money." Many other observers are also pushing an analagous approach to healthcare by emphasizing that quality of outcomes can be greatly enhanced with the use of technology, not just in new diagnostic and drug discoveries, but in communications and measurement of results to reduce human error and analyze what treatments do and do not work. Of course, a major issue in moving towards this type of approach to medicine is how will the technology be paid for, especially by the smaller hospitals and speciality services. One solution to this financial conundrum, especially with today's liquidity crunch, is through a medical accounts receivable funding program from Sun Capital HealthCare. Sun's program transforms a provider's medical receivables from a non performing asset into a cash flow solution to reimbursement delays that is not subject to the wild swings of today's credit markets.

Healthcare is like baseball in other ways as well. While the researchers and device makers often seem to be trying to hit a home run [so their stockholders can earn a return], in many ways 'small ball' can yield a better result. Reducing obesity, getting more exercise, good eating habits and focusing on prevention is a lot less costly in the long run and a lot healthier, both for the patient as well as the healthcare system.