abstract
| - On Tuesday, April 18, Congressman Tim Murphy will release a report, Critical Condition: The State of the Union's Health Care, detailing some of the greatest challenges facing the nation's health care system. The document focuses on ten major contributors to increasing costs, and ten recommendations for Congressional action. "Our health care system must be reformed and be more affordable and accessible to all Americans," Congressman Murphy said. "The United States leads the world in medical research, our hospitals use 21st Century medical technology and we have the best doctors, nurses and providers. However, massive amounts of paperwork, inefficiencies, and errors are leading to rapidly rising expenses. As a result, families, businesses, and the federal government are having difficulty keeping pace. Families are having trouble making ends meet, employers are unable to remain competitive, and health care costs are creating a massive federal deficit." The ten areas of reform the report focuses on are: 1) improving primary prevention; 2) reducing health care infection rates; 3) expanding access to community health centers; 4) increasing transparency of information within the health care system; 5) improving the accuracy of and secure access to medical records; 6) utilizing care management of chronic diseases; 7) removing barriers to mental health care; 8) eliminating defensive medicine; 9) lowering the cost of prescription drugs and 10) reducing obesity. Specific recommendations to reduce errors and improve care are offered for each category. Copies of Critical Condition: The State of the Union's Health Care will be available by calling Congressman Murphy's District Office at (412) 344-5583 or visiting his website.
|