I’m doing some research for one of my grad classes with a focus on how the Affordable Care Act impacts quality of care. While there are objective measures of quality such as hospital reimbursement rates, I believe the patient perspective is invaluable as well. Quality, then, must be addressed and defined from the various view points of those in the health care system.
I would like to gather some patient responses prior to my presentation. Personally identifiable information will not be included, rather, the aggregate of the information provided to me will be summarized for my class.
So, if you have an opinion on how quality affects your health care, please comment here or feel free to contact me over the next few weeks.
What would you like to see change in terms of quality of care?
Do you think that the way your health care providers measure quality is an adequate representation of the type of care you receive?
Have you noticed changes- good or bad- in your quality of care since the passage of the Affordable Care Act?
Is your health care delivery environment upfront about how they plan to improve the quality of your care?
These are just starting points, but any and all information provided will be useful and is greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your help!
Very Light, No Sugar 
Personally, I haven’t seen a change in the quality of my own care due to ACA, but I’m fortunate to be on a very good plan from my wife’s employer with pretty good coverage (ironically, as I type this, an appeal letter over an insulin-pump denial is being faxed to the insurance company. Is the denial due to ACA? Not that I know of).
In my opinion, ACA has more to do with costs than it does with care. Over time, I believe the treatments that are made available will diminish as the costs are evaluated by the non-medical types; and I also believe that doctors’ offices will become overwhelmed by “free” preventative visits for those fortunate souls who are “chronically-well” and never go to see doctors (until it becomes a free. paid day off of work). But I don’t think we’re there yet. People are stil trying to get their hands around the whole idea of what ACA is and how it works.
The unfortunate part, and I know this isn’t what you asked but I feel compelled to say, is that ACA doesn’t address the actual cost of healthcare, it simply re-shuffles who pays for it. If they were to make things more affordable by removing layers upon layers of costly and time-consuming bureaucracy and regulation, then I think things would not only become more affordable to all, but it would become legal and permissible to treat patients with more modern medical knowledge and developments, and that would, in turn, improve quality of care.
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Thanks so much, Scott. All great points. I agree especially with the re-shuffling costs aspect that you noted. I will be sure to mention this in my presentation. Thanks again!
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Hello Ally… I meant to respond to this earlier, but I didn’t have time. Hope I’m not too late.
The number one thing that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides for me is this: I cannot be denied insurance due to my diabetes. That is a huge game-changer for millions of Americans in similar circumstances.
As far as quality of care is concerned: No change for me at all.
What would I like to see change in terms of quality of care? I would like to see all health care professionals treat the patient, not the disease. This means developing therapies and drugs to meet my needs, rather than taking a “one size fits all” approach to managing my diabetes, then thinking it’s my fault if their plan doesn’t work. I would like to see HCPs become partners in our diabetes management, helping us toward success, and working with us when it doesn’t happen overnight.
Good luck with your presentation!
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Thanks so much, Stephen. Not too late- gathering data for a few more weeks! I agree with your points. The pre-existing condition coverage through the ACA is huge for us. Hospitals are reimbursed through Medicare and Medicaid based on quality measures (incidence of hospital-acquired conditions, etc.), and I do think that encourages better care. However, I don’t want patients to simply become numbers and statistics for reimbursement purposes. As you noted, health care teams should work with us to empower us towards better health. Thanks again for your input!
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Hola! I’ve been reading your weblog for a while now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from Lubbock Texas!
Just wanted to tell you keep up the great job!
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Welcome aboard! Thanks for reading!
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