WSJ.com - Getting Well: It's About Time

This article doesn’t draw any policy conclusions, but I think it comes back to the main problem with the 3^rd-party payer system.  If it is not our money on the line, we aren’t concerned about being wise with its use.  We need to reconnect the health consumer with the costs for routine care.

 

WSJ.com - Getting Well: It's About Time

 

What cures colds, flu, sore throats, sore muscles, headaches, stomach aches, diarrhea, menstrual cramps, hangovers, back pain, jaw pain, tennis elbow, blisters, acne and colic, costs nothing, has no weird side effects and doesn't require a prescription?

Plain old-fashioned time. But it's often the hardest medicine for patients to take.

An estimated one-third to one-half of the $2.2 trillion Americans spend annually on health care in the U.S. is spent on unnecessary tests, treatments and doctor visits. Much of that merely buys time for the body to heal itself.