Reference no: EM133868739

Waste In Health Care

Dorothy Glas was a former nurse who had signed a living will expressing her wishes that no extraordinary measures be taken to keep her alive. But that did not stop a legion of doctors from conducting batteries of tests. "I can't tell you all the tests they took. But I do know that she saw over 13 specialists'. Neurological, gastroenterologists. She even saw a psychiatrist because they said she was depressed. And she told the psychiatrist "Of course I am depressed, I am dying." When we reviewed the medical records, we discovered that there were just not 13 specialists who attended to her mother: there were 25, each of whom billed Medicare separately. The hospital said that that all the tests were appropriate, and an independent physician said this case was fairly typical. Among the tests conducted was a pap smear, which is generally only recommended for much younger women, not an octogenarian who was already dying of liver and heart disease.

Questions:

1. What is the reason that all of those tests were performed?

2. What is the impact on the cost of health care?

3. What is the the impact on the cost of health insurance?

Please provide references to support answers.