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Hospital Impact has been ranked one of the top 50 healthcare blogs by Wikio.
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by Nick Jacobs
With the financial meltdown, a ground war in two countries, the oil crisis, and global warming all coming at us at once, it seems abundantly clear that the next president of the United States could very well be so wrapped up in this one of a kind Perfect Storm that, even if the Congress goes completely his way, it may not make much real difference to any of us. Of course we need to find a way to take care of the millions of uninsured in our own country, to help those of us who are about to lose our homes, to bring back our young fathers and husbands who are in harm's way in Afghanistan and Iraq, but with limited resources, entitlements are sure to suffer as the wars continue to drain the coffers.
Time after time we have heard the hue and cry of deregulation, and this is the result; rampant mismanagement, greed, and the collapse of an entire financial system. It is clear that the 12 year gridlock in Washington D.C. has not produced positive results. It is also clear that both side have to accept some of the blame. The real challenge now is to find the right person to turn the ship, and can do so while it is taking on more water than the sump pumps can handle.
The Wall Street Journal came out with staggering figures representing the decline in elective everythings; lab tests were down by about 6%, elective knee surgeries were off by double digit percentages. At our facility, we have seen a 10% decrease in outpatient activities in the past two months, and there is no clinical reason for that decrease. When gasoline prices are through the roof, when people are at risk for having their homes taken away, and when the only thing that we can hear from the overall economy is, not a trickle down, but a great sucking sound, it becomes easier to understand exactly what is happening to prescription drug sales, lab tests, elective surgeries, and physical examinations. The co-pay becomes a no-pay, and the American public sinks a little deeper into the health care hole. Thank you Washington, and thank you Bin Laden.
