A Los Angeles Times article (Worries grow as healthcare firms send jobs overseas) laments the trend to perform functions such as data processing, pre-certification, and utilization review overseas in places like the Philippines and India. The US nursing lobby in particular is bent out of shape by the fact that some jobs done by nurses are affected.
The Times takes an alarmist view:
The outsourcing of nursing functions, in particular, may be the most novel ’ and possibly the most risky ’ of the jobs being shifted’
Patient advocates worry about crucial decisions involving a patient’s care being in the hands of foreign insurance adjusters. Analysts said there was another concern as well: patient privacy.
I’m glad that companies are starting to offshore these functions. The digitization of data makes location irrelevant, so why not go where things are less expensive? I don’t know who these ’patient advocates’ are, but why are they more concerned about ’foreign’ staff than domestic? The offshored resources are acting at the direction of their US bosses, so we shouldn’t be worried they will make the wrong decisions or violate patient privacy.
The nurse lobby is always putting out scary statistics about the huge shortage of nurses in the US. By their logic, wouldn’t it make more sense to have insurance company paper-pushing nurse shift back into clinical care? If a laid off nurse can’t find a job either the nursing shortage is bogus or there’s something wrong with that nurse.
Let’s not forget that US health care is dreadfully expensive. We should encourage health care organizations to cut costs. If offshoring helps them do it then they should go for it.
By David E. Williams
David E. Williams is the co-founder of MedPharma Partners who writes regularly on the Health Business Blog.Visit website | More posts by Author
American Telemedicine Association to hold convention in Austin, TX May 5 - 7 2013. Great opportunity for them to hire African nurses. Good for patients from Africa who can have cultural understanding and insight into problems. Ireland also outsources.
I see it, a small screen in a dingy room where a doctor from india on the other side says "hello my name is Bob what is your ailment today?".
To which i explain my latest symptoms upon which he starts to read his queue card asking me the symptons and filling out the questions.
I will get back with you once a determination has been made by your insruance comanpy as to what is wrong with you and how to treat you in the event it gets worse just make another appointment to meet with me "Bob" agian in a few weeks.
And the fact that the State Board of Registered Nursing revoke 5,000 nursing licenses a year and give out fines. What will they do, expand their role into these countries? Connect with Rep. Tony Shipley (R-TN) who has enacted two laws a) SBRN must report within 74 hours any suspension/revocation and b) any fines over $1,000. Not all SBRN web sites show fines but I have seen up to $10,000. I wish journalists would write about the problems nurses encounter with the SBRN. Topix forum in AZ has a commentary by nurses who share their stories.
Yes, I would like to see them try to outsource the nurses. It's not only not possible, but highly undesirable. I wouldn't let someone with an Indian or Chinese nursing education touch me with a ten foot pole. I still remember the infant resuscitation training doll that I gave to an Indian hospital via an adoption agency because their nurses didn't know how to resuscitate infants and very young children. The orphanage had already lost one child to this incompetence, so they were very grateful for the training, the doll, and the training materials.
Give me an Amerian nurse who speaks English!
Outsourcing has failed American manufacturing and they're bringing it back. I've seen other jobs outsourced, and it's interesting to get on the professional boards and find the foreign "experts" asking everyone else to give them information and materials because they don't know it, and they are not resourceful enough to find it. In the US we call that "lazy."
US healthcare is expensive because it's "for profit." The doctor gets a new diagnostic toy, so he starts ordering unnecessary tests in order to pay for it. Same goes for hospitals. Then there are the lawyers, who are only for themselves. Whatever happens in a lawsuit, they'll get paid by somebody.
Let's go to the social democratic system that I experienced in Scandinavia. 1) You can't really sue the doctor or the hospital. You don't find too many of these types of lawyers in Scandinavia. 2) The doctor has a salary paid by the State, and the hospital is run by the Community. 3) Healthcare is paid for through your taxes, which are very high (I paid from 49 - 52% income tax, not to mention the tax of food, clothing, etc.). However, I didn't have to worry about it if I needed surgery. Surgery was free, although you did have to pay for office visits. Getting to see a specialist was not a slam-dunk.
It wasn't as bad as it's made out to be. I did have to wait for my surgery, but so did everyone else.Urgently needed surgeries were taken care of quickly. My daughter's healthcare was 100% free up until the age of 18. The doctors don't overprescribe, and you don't get antibiotics for a viral infection. Frankly, I think it beats what we have here in the US by far.
@FireSign Firesign,
There is a reason why everyone from all over the world comes to the US for treatment (including royalty from various countries) and why the Cleveland clinic and the Mayo clinic are world renown. Its because of the profit factor allows the best Dr's and medical researchers to work for these institutions. Does anyone really fly to Scandinavia or Canada to get medical treatment. No. In fact I know more Canadians that come here to get a CT scan or MRI since it won't take 4-8 months to get one here int he US vs. Canada.
They come to the US for two reasons: 1) they want to jump the cue. 2) They want to get treatment that they cannot get in their own country, assuming that there are no private hospitals or clinics allowed (so that people cannot jump the cue, which is considered to be the "I am better than you" syndrome).
Yes, people fly to Scandinavia for treatment, and they're world renowed for sex change operations among other things. Royalty comes here because this is where the good doctors are - you know, the doctors that get paid obscene amounts of money which is why they went into the business.
Being a doctor in the US is relatively very lucrative. It doesn't mean our doctors are any better, or the healthcare SYSTEM is any better. It's not. Just check out how many people go bankrupt trying to pay for care, and how many people don't get care at all because they cannot afford it. You don't see that in Scandinavia.