The future of primary care : an engineering system approach to fix the U.S. health care system

The ailing U.S. health care system faces two tremendous challenges: a rising health care bill and a growing number of uninsured individuals. Several policies have been enacted to tackle these challenges but they are short-term patchwork solutions rather than long-term holistic solutions needed to address structural issues. Despite the market-based aspect of the U.S. healthcare system, self-correction of structural inefficiencies is unlikely to happen. A new care model has to disrupt the current care system. In line with this observation, we propose to analyze the potential of a new primary care delivery as a solution to address the two key challenges threatening to destabilize the U.S. health care. Based on our analysis of the literature, we note that chronic diseases account for a large proportion of the health care bill. Yet, the delivery model to provide chronic care, where primary care plays a central role, is inefficient, fragmented and insufficient. Compounding these ailments, primary care is facing its own crisis resulting from the shortage of generalist doctors and the inflating demand for primary care services. As primary care is critical for the continuity and coordination of medical care, resolving the urgent situation facing this branch of practice should be a top priority to improve quality of care while reducing health care costs. Every stakeholder in the current health care system should collectively contribute to the primary care model redesign endeavor.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Chong, Stéphane

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Mahender Singh.

• Engineering Systems Division.
• Technology and Policy Program.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/51654

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/51654