Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

ER physicians can help meet the triple aim

Vipul Kella, MD
Policy
April 2, 2015
Share
Tweet
Share

It is amazing to me how far emergency medicine has come as a specialty. Until the 1970s, emergency rooms were staffed by low-level resident interns who moonlighted for extra money or physicians who couldn’t find work elsewhere. After finally getting recognized as a specialty, the specialty still spent a few decades finding its way: developing training programs, improving quality, and generally trying to raise the bar on emergency care in the U.S.

Fast forward to today. Big strides have been made in cardiac, stroke, and critical care. ER physicians have improved technologies such as ultrasound and have advanced the field of airway management. Emergency departments have served as a testing ground for patient queuing and improved efficiencies in patient throughput. Emergency physicians are no longer low-level residents fighting for a seat at the table, but truly are experts at emergency care whose presence at the table is vital.  In short, emergency physicians have arrived.

This realization came to a head recently as I was sitting in a hospital boardroom for a meeting. The topic was the triple aim: improving patient experience, improving the health of populations and reducing the per capita cost of health care.

This is a conversation that most hospitals are having as the health care system moves to being based on value instead of volume. No longer are the priorities to simply keep our hospital beds full and our operating rooms and cath labs busy. Rather, the question now is, “Are we providing the right care, rather than the most care?”

There are other questions, too: “Are patients better served in the outpatient setting rather than the inpatient?”  “How can we coordinate services with primary physicians and specialists in the community to prevent unnecessary hospital stays?”  “Are we addressing end of life care?”  “How can we improve utilization of imaging studies to patients and not compromise quality?”  Hospitals need answers to all of these. The idea of a value-based system of health care, which seemed like a nice conversation piece for cocktail parties not too long ago, is now a central part of our health care agenda.

Emergency physicians are central players in answering these questions, and a hospital’s success in integrating care will be driven squarely by the care that is provided in the emergency department. It’s an exciting time to be in the field of emergency medicine. The decisions that emergency physicians make over the coming years will have a real and lasting impact on the future health care system.

I am happy that we are finally asking the right questions — but happier still that we emergency physicians are the ones to be answering them.

Vipul Kella is is an emergency physician who blogs at The Shift.

Prev

Binge eating disorder: Real or disease mongering?

April 2, 2015 Kevin 4
…
Next

The special privilege of being a doctor

April 2, 2015 Kevin 94
…

Tagged as: Emergency Medicine, Public Health & Policy

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Binge eating disorder: Real or disease mongering?
Next Post >
The special privilege of being a doctor

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Vipul Kella, MD

  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Emergency departments should embrace clinically integrated networks

    Vipul Kella, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    The conversations can be more difficult than the procedures

    Vipul Kella, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Do we need less art in medicine?

    Vipul Kella, MD

More in Policy

  • Unused IV catheters cost U.S. hospitals billions

    Piyush Pillarisetti
  • Why your health care dashboard isn’t working and how to fix it

    Dave Cummings, RN
  • Nuclear verdicts and rising costs: How inflation is reshaping medical malpractice claims

    Robert E. White, Jr. & The Doctors Company
  • How new loan caps could destroy diversity in medical education

    Caleb Andrus-Gazyeva
  • Why transplant equity requires more than access

    Zamra Amjid, DHSc, MHA
  • Ideology, not evidence, fuels the anti-trans agenda

    Andie Riffer, PhD and Shawn E. Parra, LCSW, MSW
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why your clinic waiting room may affect patient outcomes

      Ziya Altug, PT, DPT and Shirish Sachdeva, PT, DPT | Conditions
    • The human case for preserving the nipple after mastectomy

      Thomas Amburn, MD | Conditions
    • Nuclear verdicts and rising costs: How inflation is reshaping medical malpractice claims

      Robert E. White, Jr. & The Doctors Company | Policy
    • How new loan caps could destroy diversity in medical education

      Caleb Andrus-Gazyeva | Policy
    • The ethical crossroads of medicine and legislation

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
    • How community and buses saved my retirement

      Raymond Abbott | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Health equity in Inland Southern California requires urgent action

      Vishruth Nagam | Policy
    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • How restrictive opioid policies worsen the crisis

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Why primary care needs better dermatology training

      Alex Siauw | Conditions
    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • Why pain doctors face unfair scrutiny and harsh penalties in California

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • How policy and stigma block addiction treatment

      Mariana Ndrio, MD | Physician
    • Unused IV catheters cost U.S. hospitals billions

      Piyush Pillarisetti | Policy
    • Why U.S. universities should adopt a standard pre-med major [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Ancient health secrets for modern life

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • How the internet broke the doctor-parent trust

      Wendy L. Hunter, MD | Conditions
    • Why don’t women in medicine support each other?

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why your clinic waiting room may affect patient outcomes

      Ziya Altug, PT, DPT and Shirish Sachdeva, PT, DPT | Conditions
    • The human case for preserving the nipple after mastectomy

      Thomas Amburn, MD | Conditions
    • Nuclear verdicts and rising costs: How inflation is reshaping medical malpractice claims

      Robert E. White, Jr. & The Doctors Company | Policy
    • How new loan caps could destroy diversity in medical education

      Caleb Andrus-Gazyeva | Policy
    • The ethical crossroads of medicine and legislation

      M. Bennet Broner, PhD | Conditions
    • How community and buses saved my retirement

      Raymond Abbott | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Health equity in Inland Southern California requires urgent action

      Vishruth Nagam | Policy
    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • How restrictive opioid policies worsen the crisis

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Why primary care needs better dermatology training

      Alex Siauw | Conditions
    • New student loan caps could shut low-income students out of medicine

      Tom Phan, MD | Physician
    • Why pain doctors face unfair scrutiny and harsh penalties in California

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • How policy and stigma block addiction treatment

      Mariana Ndrio, MD | Physician
    • Unused IV catheters cost U.S. hospitals billions

      Piyush Pillarisetti | Policy
    • Why U.S. universities should adopt a standard pre-med major [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Ancient health secrets for modern life

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • How the internet broke the doctor-parent trust

      Wendy L. Hunter, MD | Conditions
    • Why don’t women in medicine support each other?

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

ER physicians can help meet the triple aim
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...