The Business of Healthcare - What you need to know as a "customer"

Every day for the past 10 years I have been in some way shape or form, working in healthcare. Be it medical devices, bracing, fitness you name it I have probably seen or worked with it. Yet while I continue to grow my understanding of the complex world of healthcare, there is one constant thing I see across the board that is downright scary.

The general public’s basic understanding of how healthcare works is almost non-existent. It’s understandable though. With so many aspects to healthcare it can be a daunting and down-right confusing world especially when it comes to looking out for our own health! However, in the world we live in today, you absolutely MUST have a basic and functional understanding of how to navigate through the chaos and take care of your own well-being.

*Disclaimer* I am NOT a doctor, what I am talking about is purely observational and related to NON-Emergency related situations. If you experience a traumatic event, illness or injury, please call 9-1-1 and let the professionals take care of you the best way modern medicine knows how.

With that being said, there is 1 key point I want to talk about today:

Healthcare is a business!

It is a huge business that generates OVER 1.5 Trillion dollars PER YEAR.

Read that last sentence again……. 1,500,000,000 Dollars (That's a lot of zero's)

This number is 20 Million times larger than the AVERAGE household income.

A business is typically defined as an entity (Hospital, Doctor's office, etc) providing some sort of a service (care) to its customers (patients).

The "service" is where it gets tricky.

We don’t tell say to ourselves I’m going down the street to the doctor’s office to get lunch. What we say is I’m not feeling well I’m going to the doctors. This verbiage leaves out the service portion of the transaction which is “to get care” . There are two reasons for that I believe. The first is that its implied which has consequences because it means we remove things like cost and value out of the equation. The second is that we are buying has an intangible value in our health so its easier to just ignore!

The fact is though that we do have a tangible “value” in the eyes of the healthcare business's and we as all customers need to be conscience of this.

Does this sound familiar? 

"You need to have this taken care of."

"Take this medicine, you’ll be better in no time."

"You should really think about...."

We have all heard these phrases from our doctors, therapists, or other health care individuals. Now, like it or not, these are all sales pitches. I’m not saying that doctors are sales people, because legally they are required to do what’s best for you the patient, but if they provide you a service and you pay for that service and any additional items that come as a result of that service (Medication, braces, bloodwork, etc.) you are “BUYING” that service. This means you are a consumer and in turn they a sales person.

If you think of sales as providing solutions/services for a price, then this makes sense doesn’t it?

Doctors are seeing patients with all sorts of ailments and looking for ways to help there “customers”. From there the doctors “shop” through research studies, fellow doctors, and by talking to companies like the ones I have worked for in the past that provide these solutions to the doctors (our customers) so that they in turn can take care of you! It’s not their intention to sell you something but they know we all want to feel better or be fixed up and they are doing there best to fill our demands!

So what does this all mean? What do I do?

Well fret not, first of all now you’re armed with this info and knowing is half the battle. Understanding that healthcare as a business will allow you to start to take more control of your own health.

How?

Well, in simple terms just assume you are a customer like any other who goes to the grocery store every week and that's that..... But if you need a little more understanding the best way to explain this “taking control of your health” methodology is to imagine your body is a car. Pick a car, any car, Corvette, Porshe, Lambo, it doesn't matter because at the end of the day while they each may have unique features and benefits they all accomplish the same goal. Just like you and I, we may have many differences but we are ALL human (If you are a dog and your're reading this, please call me).

So back to the car,

Say your check engine light goes on (you have a fever)

You take your car into the mechanic (Doctor)

He tells you what’s wrong and how to fix it.

STOP HERE

What do WE ALL DO NEXT in the case of the mechanic……

WE ASK HOW MUCH? (do we ask the doctor how much his/her fix is?)

They then proceed to tells us how much and after we get over the sticker shock what do we do?

If you're like me I frantically go looking online for the part the mechanic just gave us a price for then start Youtubing DIY videos on changing a spark plug and think one of 4 things

1. Maybe I can do it myself (Rehab exercises, diet plans, etc)

2. Maybe another mechanic can do it for less (Seek a second opinion)

3. There is a better spark plug than the one the mechanic is selling me, maybe I should get that one (newer product with research that you would actually use)

4. There is no way I can do this, I don’t want to deal with and feel it's best left to the professional. (Leave it in the doctor's hands)

Each of these options have pros and cons but ultimately these are YOUR options that YOU have for your "car" so use them!

Now you may think this is an oversimplification, but the point is to ASK questions and treat yourself as if you were going in for repairs as a customer, not as a hopeless patient at the whim of the “mechanic”.

VERY IMPORTANT POINT

PLEASE also note that the “mechanic” is RARELY ever wrong. So, when the doctor tells you, you have a clot in your artery and it needs surgery for removal, he/she is probably right, and you should listen to them, again I AM NOT A DOCTOR. Just do your homework, ask the doctor questions, ask other doctors, read research papers and studies on success rates of surgeries/medications/treatment options, just take an ACTIVE role in your health.

Let’s face facts, during our lifetime we ALL should see a doctor about some ailment or general checkups. The difference between the ones who take care of themselves and those who get stuck in the long, expensive, confusing ride of healthcare is how well you understand and function in it. I am not here to judge, all I ask is that you look out for yourself, make YOURSELF priority number 1 and treat yourself like you did your first car. It’s YOUR healthcare not just Healthcare.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this. If you enjoyed it and want to hear more please make sure to leave a comment and/or share the post with a colleague of yours. Stay safe and healthy in these times of crisis and let me know if there is anything I can do to help. Much love!