Understanding the healthcare system as a consumer | Seth Denson | TEDxFlowerMound

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Title	:	Understanding the healthcare system as a consumer \| Seth Denson \| TEDxFlowerMound
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Description Understanding the healthcare system as a consumer | Seth Denson | TEDxFlowerMound

Comments Understanding the healthcare system as a consumer | Seth Denson | TEDxFlowerMound

Mr Denson brings an interesting viewpoint of healthcare that I was not all that familiar with He mentions how our healthcare has made several advancements and how some people may have easy access to a doctor and healthcare However, it’s the cost aspect that patients may not fully be aware of It is astounding to me how much healthcare costs have increased by 130 when inflation hasn’t increased even 30 It’s a unique approach and viewpoint of how the patients have the power in their healthcare by increasing their knowledge and as an opportunity to learn By doing so, people are able to ask more educated questions pertaining to their healthcare and that is something extremely important the cost of healthcare However, medicine isn’t as simple as fixing a household item or a car As a 2nd year medical student, I believe that healthcare providers should be mindful of the cost to patients The most expensive procedure or treatment isn’t always the best treatment for a patient Providers need to consider what is the best way to provide efficient care to their patients without needing to charge ridiculous amounts of money Not only that, but the cost burden can also be very stressful for patients when seeking healthcare and the duty of the doctor should be to minimize harm or distress in patients I really enjoyed this talk as it brought a different perspective and this issue of cost can be approached in several ways Having people be more aware of their healthcare can be one of many solutions for this problem
Comment from : Angel Cruz

I think Seth Denson wonderfully highlighted the negative aspects of medical finances I once passed out while working as a medical scribe in the Emergency Department and was immediately put into a room as a patient I had basic labs drawn and received IV fluids before I was discharged home One month later, I received a bill for over $3000 for that single visit Had I known some bloodwork and normal saline was going to cost me almost two months’ worth of rent, I would have refused treatment This is the same struggle that so many individuals are experiencing today It is unfair to assume that every patient is okay not knowing a final price for their treatment prior to receiving it Non-maleficence is the principle of doing no harm, something all physicians are obligated to uphold during their practice A physician might believe that ordering all the tests in the book is in the best interest of the patient, but they could be causing more harm to the patient, putting them in a significant amount of debt On the other hand, medicine is a complicated matter; one that cannot be compared to buying groceries at the grocery store Certain procedures or surgeries sometimes do cost an extreme amount, but that is the price we pay for high quality health care Certain medications have become ground-breaking cures for what were considered incurable diseases, but again at a cost In order to continue to make these advances in medicine and supply the products that are in such high demand, there has to be some financial aspect in play If not, we risk drug companies slowing production, or medical device companies limiting their supply I believe we need to compromise For most routine visits requiring simple treatments, patients should be well aware of the costs associated up front Of course, this gets tricky as conditions become more complicated While we might not ever find common ground on this matter, patient care and safety should remain the main priority Physicians should focus on providing the best care for the patient, while patients should focus on getting healthy The insurance companies have a lot of improvement to do to make health care more affordable
Comment from : DOlovesmedicine

I really appreciate the unique viewpoint on the business of healthcare that Mr Denson presented I used to work as a registrar in a very busy emergency department, going from room to room, collecting insurance and billing information, as well as co-pays I saw patients in this exact situation time and time again, unaware about the logistics of their insurance and financial implications Many patients I worked with would make frequent visits to the emergency department for low acuity health issues because the hospital was close by, not realizing the urgent care across the street could see them for a much cheaper rate They often assumed that because the emergency department was “in network” with their insurance (which most ERs are technically in-network with almost all insurance providers), that their insurance would cover costs associated with the visit As such, many patients were taken aback when I would explain the billing process following their discharge, confused about why there would be any further billing after they already paid a co-pay In addition, because of the high-pace environment that is an emergency department, the patients often would not be able to get an in-depth explanation for the process from providers or billing staff br I completely agree with Mr Denson that patients have the power to increase their knowledge about insurance and the finances associated with healthcare, but I understand firsthand that this topic is extremely complex and can be intimidating for patients I would like to argue that we in the health care community can, and should, do more to promote the financial well-being of our patients One of the main ethical components of healthcare is beneficence, an obligation for healthcare workers to do good for their patients This goes far beyond the narrow focus of what happens when a patient is in the hospital To fulfill this obligation, it is vitally important that healthcare workers educate their patients on how to handle some of the extremely intimidating financial situations that come with a hospital visit Furthermore, in my classes as medical student, I often learn from professors which medicines and procedures are more expensive, and in my own practice I hope to use that knowledge to practice beneficence by helping to alleviate their potential financial burden Likewise, I believe physicians and providers can strive to be mindful of pricing, and even give their patients a choice between the options if one has the potential to cause a financial burden While I agree with Mr Denson that patients can take control of their healthcare expenses, I strongly believe that there is a lot of room for improvement within the healthcare professions to help patients accomplish this and in doing so fulfill their ethical obligation to the patients Thank you again for this insightful speech!
Comment from : Dylan Waddill

I would like to start this off by saying thank you to Mr Denson for sharing his knowledge and life experience with us today This is such a powerful talk I really liked his analogy of getting groceries to our current healthcare system The comparison is truly spot on and the disparity is staring us right in the face From an ethics standpoint, where is the justice for the patient in keeping patients in the blind and influencing people to think that they do not know what is best for them? Now, I would like to play devils advocate for the rest of my discussion Medicine is a highly daunting thing It is a tad unfair to compare it to buying a car or finding a flat screen tv I mean sure, most people do not know how a car or a tv truly works but it is simple enough to buy a good product The human body is already the perfect product in need of repair Now, when it comes to repairing your car or tv, most people will get taken advantage of because they do not know how these things work It is the exact same with healthcare br I have been studying medicine for 7 years now and I will be the first to tell you, it's pretty dang complicated I will spend the rest of my career doing this and I will end my career still learning, most likely having barely scratched the surface of what is possible How can we ask our patients to research drugs that would be better for them? There is so much information that goes into manufacturing drugs and making them effective that it took a team of scientists years to make it possible So, yes, it is inspiring to have somebody tell us that the power is in our hands, it makes us feel good However, when it comes to putting it into practice, we are all truly at a disadvantage br I believe in the spirit of treating patients and being as beneficent as possible, there needs to be more transparency and less manipulation when it comes to healthcare Healthcare is too much of a business these days and they hold a lot of power There is a way to get the pendulum to swing back in the patient’s favor and I guess time will tell on what that solution is Anyway, I would like to thank Mr Denson for giving this talk, as I believe it is a truly powerful discussion and needs to be brought to our attention more Thank you for reading
Comment from : Nick Slaboden

Death and taxes are two guarantees in life One additional guarantee is healthcare With this in mind, it would make sense that healthcare insurance should be a guarantee as well, but of course this is not the case with everyone Since insurance is market-based in our country, it becomes unavailable to those who cannot afford it The speaker brings up a solid point of comparing insurance cards to credit cards However, the blanket statement that Americans do not review insurance bills like they do with regular credit cards is incredibly dismissive Being a future physician myself and having to be taken off of my parents’ health insurance plan recently, I realized very quickly how insurance can make or break a bank account Fully invested in the medical plan for my sinusitis, I still had to pay for a tremendous portion of the bill regardless of the co-pay This was not due to negligence or due to poor hygiene It was not due to poor health decisions prior to the infection It was because I needed emergent treatment for a worsening infection, and no degree of being proactive could have helped mitigate this situation The lack of transparency for different services upfront is what is the major contributing factor, in my opinion, as to why there is lack of trust and an increase in cost in even the most basic of treatments From an ethical perspective, the lack of transparency is maleficent, as it can negatively contribute to a family’s financial well-being which can have negative downstream implications when other more complicated services are needed Billing after treatment is provided and not an upfront statement is unethical and it is not due to negligence of the consumer
Comment from : toppertin92006

Healthcare for the world is known as an essential service that unfortunately one way or another one will need at some point in their lives Unlike other good such as shopping for groceries, the upfront cost of these healthcare services is often unclear and unpredictable Lack of transparency in pricing of these goods can result with significant harm to the consumer and our society as a whole Healthcare is known to be a basic human right This should exclude it to being subject to changing market forces It seems to be immoral for healthcare providers to have the ability to exploit this vulnerability of its consumers (ie, patients) by charging them often exurbanite pricing that is not known before receiving the goods Patients should have the right to know the exact cost of their treatment in advanced if feasible (not in an emergent situation) Moreover, lack of reflection in cost can often lead to a heavy financial burden for many individuals or their families A sudden medical emergency could later result in large bills that families often have difficulty dealing with Thus, exacerbating hardships patients and their families may be already going through With this, patients may also forgo necessary medical treatments due to the unforeseen high costs, resulting in worse health outcomes for patients within the community and often even death This also leads to lack of competition in the marketplace due to lack of upfront pricing, this can lead to healthcare cost exacerbation Without the clarity of pricing, patients are completely unable to compare costs between providers Moreover, this disincentives healthcare providers to lower their prices or even improve on their services One can assume this lack of competition will ultimately end up harming not only the patients, but the community who is forced to pay for higher healthcare costs even though it may be a lower quality of care One last argument for transparent pricing would be the relationship and building of trust between a patient and their provider Patients who have trust in one’s provider and feel they are being treated fairly and honestly are much more likely to have positive healthcare outcomes To counter, one who feels they have been taken advantage of and or deceived by its provider, may forever have a lack of trust within the healthcare industry and thus be less likely to seek the care they may need in the future Morally it is wrong how healthcare goes about its pricing regimen No other industry is treated as such in the modern-day world Transparent pricing is necessary to ensure that patients are receiving the necessary care they need without suffering financial hardship in doing so By providing upfront costs this will allow healthcare providers to build trust with not only their patients but also the community as a hole As a healthcare provider, the goal should always be to provide the upmost quality of care for its patients, that includes providing healthcare at an known, upfront and reasonable cost
Comment from : Oak12

After watching Seth Denson’s TED Talk on understanding the healthcare system as a consumer, I believe that ethical considerations provide a brief eye-opening synopsis to why society should take the time to understand health insurance and healthcare billing Denson uses the analogy of shopping in the grocery store to shopping in healthcare It is described that grocery shopping with no labels, prices, or cost at check-out with a bill provided in a month can be compared to healthcare bills coming in the mail months later with no answers at the visit Patients are encouraged to ask questions in the office, study insurance, and study healthcare billing brHealthcare insurance cards are also compared to credit cards Both are used to access services or goods Both cards involve a financial transaction Insurance cards provide access to necessary medical care that is essential for maintaining health and well-being which is a basic human right However, credit cards are typically used for consumer goods, which is not a basic human right However, although I feel this comparison brings this idea to light, I feel it is over-simplified I feel healthcare insurance cards involve a more complex pricing structure compared to credit cards I do agree though, that this makes it difficult for consumers to understand the true costs of healthcare services brOne ethical principle related to this healthcare video is distributive justice Distributive justice is the fair distribution of resources, benefits, and burdens in society Distributive justice requires healthcare resources to be distributed fairly and equitably to all individuals, regardless of their ability to pay The principle of distributive justice requires that policymakers and healthcare providers work towards creating a system that prioritizes that healthcare resources are distributed fairly Denson encourages the start of this with patient self-education and asking questions
Comment from : Cassidy Christopherson

I don’t like the grocery store analogy It’s funny and seems ridiculous, but the experience is too different to be analogous
Comment from : Strategic1

An interesting talk from someone who does not articulate anything but a perspective firmly planted in middle class, literate, reflective, educated, biased life Try this on a person who grew up outside of that class and what we get is too many variables for one person, especially if he or she is very seriously ill, to achieve this rather narrow if not pleasant view It is not as simple as having a roadmap It requires language, social skills, awareness of differences as well as that which makes us the same
Comment from : Molly Holzschlag

Cost is only part of the problem The other part is our doctor's cannot diagnose and it is so fragmented that you cannot even get the help you need It has become almost completely useless No one thinks it is their job to do their job anymore
Comment from : Christina

He clearly doesn't understand healthcare
Comment from : Belena Butler

This sucks so bad!!! "It's impossible to tell what anything will cost and you're totally at the mercy of big business and insurance companies Are there political alternatives that could reform the system into something more sane and effective? Nah that's impossible But you can be a more savy consumer and ask questions at the doctors office!"
Comment from : Dustin Michels

"it's the consumers' fault they don't take the time to read we're often just lazy" but also "80 of bills are erroneous" That sounds like a systemic problem across the insurance industry, not something an ordinary consumer can address unless they have abundant knowledge, time, or protections
Comment from : Nicolo Ferretti

i ask questions but no one seems to have the answers doctors and insurance always point the finger at each other and no one knows anything
Comment from : Ivas & Ivas

this should be called "how Aetna's customer service representatives use their 'authority' to make you suffer i record my calls do the same
Comment from : jenniferbryn

The problem is also access Being told to leave if you don’t have money or if your insurance no longer covers you is not access
Comment from : Important Old News

He puts the responsibility on the patient who is at the mercy of medical providers The cost for that IV bag? It’s criminal price gouging
Comment from : Blackberries

Amazing video
Comment from : New York vibes with Olga

Take advantage of the free market!!!
Comment from : Lugohst Soto Fitness

Amazing explanation Not enough people have watched this video Lol
Comment from : Maria Salinas

Heath care has long been a hot topic and Seth doesn't hold back on shining a spotlit on some of the inherent flaws that keeping it from functioning at the optimum with which we all wish it did
Comment from : James Ganiere

Very interesting, thanks Seth!
Comment from : J Clint

Absolutely great! Very down to earth informative
Comment from : Jeffrey Lane

This is great! Such a good explainer
Comment from : Real News Communications Network

Such a great way to explain and look at the way we are not dealing with the hidden costs of healthcare Thank you for your gifted insight and inspiration to take action
Comment from : Jenny Mulks - Your Cancer Coach