The U.S. healthcare industry wastes as much as $900 billion a year in unnecessary care, according to a new report by GBI Research.
GBI traces the waste to what it refers to as "incompetent hospital management and administrations scams," according to a statement issued yesterday by the firm.
The report notes that such excessive waste found throughout the U.S. healthcare industry exacerbates unnecessary treatment costs. "Medical practitioners may prescribe branded products where cheaper generic alternatives may be issued for the same condition, while patients who miss scheduled pharmaceutical treatments can incur extra costs such as laboratory tests and physician visits, " the business intelligence firm said.
The current outlay on healthcare averages $8,300 per person in the United States, but GBI believes it will increase to $12,500 per capita by 2020, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier. The report cited the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as among the reasons growth will continue.
Some healthcare organizations, such as the American College of Physicians (ACP), have vowed to cut waste by eliminating unnecessary or duplicative tests. ACP leadership believes as much as $250 billion a year is wasted on unnecessary tests, reported Reuters.
For more:
- here's the GBI statement
- read the Business Courier article
- read the Reuters article