Viewpoint

Not long ago, doctors made house calls. How nice it must have been to be treated by one’s doctor in one’s own bed, with family about and chicken soup on the boil. No lying in tiled hallways, clinging to cold metal tables waiting on overworked ED staff. Physicians had time to bond with patients and build relationships. Could that era come again? Possibly.

With the recent opening of the "Hospital Compare" Web site (www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may be leading the race to transparency in healthcare and, consequently, to consumerism.

The Task Force On The Funding Of The Health System (The Task Force) released its final report in February titled "Getting Our Money's Worth," in which it concludes that if the Quebec public healthcare system is to avoid going broke in the near future it must move toward privatization. This is significant for two reasons: 1) Claude Castonguay, Quebec's former health minister, the father of the modern Canadian healthcare industry, is The Task Force's chairman and, 2) Canada's socialized medical industry is mostly based on the Quebec model.

Healthcare professionals prepare for all types of disaster. ED physicians and first responders plan for mass-casualty events. IT directors plan for network recovery after system failure and data loss. Operations directors consider how to keep hospitals going when Internet access, supplies and power become limited or non-existent. C-level executives examine the overall repercussions and ensure continuity of the business during disaster and its aftermath.