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The
National Institute
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Health Policy
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The Medical
Arms Race Syndrome
On July 13, 2006, the National Institute of Health Policy (NIHP)
launched its series on
The Medical Arms Race Syndrome
(MARS). More than 90 stakeholders representing
the healthcare spectrum gathered to share their experience and
expertise, and raised important questions surrounding this complex issue.
We invite and challenge you to contribute your expertise now and
throughout the upcoming months to help address and answer these
questions. It is only through true community-wide collaboration
that improvement can be made.
The Background of MARS
MARS Events
Technology is
revolutionizing the way healthcare is delivered in the 21st Century. It
is also promising huge financial rewards, not only to inventors but to
medical practitioners. In the absence of market mechanisms or rules, the
professional line between patient and provider or provider and community
interest is not easy to draw.
For decades patients have benefited from cutting edge medical device,
pharmaceutical, and biologic innovation - much of which has been
generated by creative and talented experts here in the Upper Midwest.
Rapid advances occur every day. Unfortunately, health economists
attribute much of the increases in U.S. healthcare spending to
technology - and have difficulty quantifying off-setting benefits.
Healthcare stakeholders have embraced the power of information
technology as well, and hope for a future when the two - medical and
information technology - can be seamlessly married to discovery and the
clinical data produced by millions of medical events annually to ensure
optimal health for all Americans at a price all can afford.
Standing in the way of this needed revolution, however, is the heavy
burden of understanding medical investment decisions and defining the
role of healthcare payment policy in rising healthcare costs. Increasing
utilization, specialization, competition among institutional and
individual providers, government payment and purchasing policies, and
consumer expectations are just a few of the pressing policy issues.
If we don't understand them, we cannot influence them. As a regional
policy collaborative, members of the National Institute of Health Policy
(NIHP) believe that only at a community level can we as a society
achieve this requisite understanding and the commitment to
transformative change.
To better understand The Medical Arms Race Syndrome (MARS)--the
interplay between technological innovation, market forces, the role of
government, and rising healthcare costs--the NIHP will host a series of
dialogues in the coming 24 months. The series will use the NIHP’s
neutral, multi-stakeholder forum to highlight the policy barriers and
opportunities imbedded in the healthcare technology revolution. It will
culminate in a national conference that focuses on the future of the
hospital and the promise of technology for changing where and how
healthcare is delivered. “Where is My Nearest Healthcare Facility:
Optimizing the Healing Power of Innovation.”
The MARS series will include local, regional, and national conversations
with national experts in medical and health information technology who
will help chart a vision for our community in concert with hospital
leaders, public payers, civic leaders, physicians, ancillary health
professionals, policy-makers and educators.
The kick-off event for this series – “The Medical Arms Race Syndrome:
Defining the Problem” - will take place on July 13, 2006 at the
University of St. Thomas Minneapolis Campus. The Citizens League April
2006 report on medical facility expansion in Minnesota provides a useful
backdrop for the launch of this series and its authors will be present
at the June event.
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The
Medical Arms Race and the Impact of
Government Regulation
& Payment Systems
featuring Dr. Mark McClellan,
former CMS Administrator
October 15, 2008
As part of NIHP's series on the Medical
Arms Race Syndrome, Dr.
McClellan, former FDA Commissioner and former
Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, addressed the impact of government regulation
and payment systems on the Medical Arms Race.
The NIHP teamed up with the Medical Technology
Leadership Forum to host this event, as part of MTLF’s
2007 Fall Forum.
Event Summary
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Aligning Incentives to Redirect
the Medical Arms Race: Value Based Purchasing
featuring Jack Rowe, MD
September 20, 2007 |
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Event Summary
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MARS: The Business, the
Challenges, and the Value of Healthcare
featuring Leonard Schaeffer
June 19, 2007 |
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MARS: The Value of Innovation
Featuring Uwe Reinhardt, Ph.D.
February 22, 2007
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MARS: Health System
Economics
September 29, 2006
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MARS: Kick-Off
July 13, 2006
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David F. Durenberger; Chair, National
Institute of Health Policy |
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Michael Scandrett; Health Policy Director, Halleland Health Consulting |
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Duane Benson and Peter Gove;
Co-Chairs Citizens League Medical Facilities Committee
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Scott Leitz; Director of Health Policy, Minnesota Department of Health
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Michael Morrow; Senior Vice President of Business Development & Network
Management, BlueCrossBlueShield of MN |
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Kenneth Heithoff, M.D.; Founder, Chairman, & National Medical Director, Center
for Diagnostic Imaging |
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Allen Horn, M.D.; President, CentraCare Clinic |
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Jeremy Olsen, St. Paul Pioneer Press |
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