{"id":119,"date":"2009-03-03T10:25:37","date_gmt":"2009-03-03T14:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/?p=119"},"modified":"2009-03-03T10:25:37","modified_gmt":"2009-03-03T14:25:37","slug":"the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-wertheim-lecturer-examines-ailing-us-health-care-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/2009\/03\/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-wertheim-lecturer-examines-ailing-us-health-care-system\/","title":{"rendered":"The good, the bad, and the ugly: Wertheim lecturer examines ailing U.S. health care system."},"content":{"rendered":"

What are we going to do about our health care system?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a question being raised throughout South Florida and across the United States\u2014from kitchen table to conference room table. The right answer is not easy to come by\u2014but pinpointing problem areas offers a valid starting place.<\/p>\n

[flv:http:\/\/itv.fiu.edu\/uploads\/XlTwNBFQEHYhRfS5eSP3.flv 500 334]<\/p>\n

In a recent Wertheim Lecture, Brian E. Keeley<\/strong>, president and chief executive officer, Baptist Health South Florida, identified the top three health care issues demanding attention: access, quality, and cost.
\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is, our national health care system is broken,\u201d Keeley said. \u201cIt needs a comprehensive fix…not just a tweak.\u201d<\/p>\n

The challenges are widespread\u2014ranging from figuring out how to provide coverage to millions of uninsured citizens to controlling skyrocketing costs.<\/p>\n

\"Brian<\/a>
Brian E. Keeley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What drives the high cost of health care today?<\/em><\/p>\n

According to Keeley, the United States spends 50 percent more on health care than any other advanced country.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, ours is the only advanced country that does not provide universal health care,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Keeley outlined factors contributing to the rise in health care costs. Some are obvious\u2014including expensive drugs, the aging of the American population, the rise in medical malpractice suits, and the availability of new technologies. Others are less obvious\u2014such as hidden cost shifts and the over-utilization of health care by the aging baby-boomer generation.<\/p>\n

Although dismayed to see the U.S. health care system under such duress, lecture attendee Judy Brown<\/strong>, research consultant with Bioheart, Inc., also was encouraged by the fact that industry leaders like Keeley see the big picture.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that the powers that be in local, state, and federal government are identifying issues together, I think there is hope that in time remedies to the over-extended costs of health care will be found,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Obama administration starts to define new path.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI met recently with President Obama\u2019s transition team, where a number of solutions are already being debated,\u201d Keeley said. \u201cOne idea is to move to a public\/private hybrid model for health insurance coverage. Other proposed solutions include establishing a federal health board and directing funding from the recently passed stimulus package toward information technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keeley\u2019s lecture, which drew more than 150 attendees from the academic, business, and medical communities, took place on January 29, 2009, in the college\u2019s Ocean Bank Auditorium. The Herbert A. Wertheim Lecture Series has brought distinguished speakers and experts in business leadership and entrepreneurship to campus since 1993.<\/p>\n

Michael Jadoo<\/strong>, slated to earn his BBA degree in April 2009, makes an effort to attend the lectures whenever he can.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate getting the chance to connect with industry experts and to learn new things outside the classroom,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
An audience of more than 150 heard Brian E. Keeley, president and chief executive officer, Baptist Health South Florida, identify key health care issues during his Wertheim Lecture.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What are we going to do about our health care system? It\u2019s a question being raised throughout South Florida and across the United States\u2014from kitchen table to conference room table. The right answer is not easy to come by\u2014but pinpointing problem areas offers a valid starting place. [flv:http:\/\/itv.fiu.edu\/uploads\/XlTwNBFQEHYhRfS5eSP3.flv 500 334] In a recent Wertheim Lecture, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10,14],"tags":[267,1093],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}