Heart check deal a boost for patients
Australia’s biggest private cardiology group has signed a groundbreaking agreement with a health fund through which patients will be able to see how their coronary artery treatment compares with the best international standards.
The deal is between Genesis Heart Care and the BUPA health fund and makes a break from the previous distant relationship between the medical profession and health funds where – according to The Age newspaper – there was concern about American style “managed care” with funds trying to influence treatment decisions.
BUPA’s medical director, Dr Christine Bennett, said there would be no charge to patients for the scheme and that it should reduce the need for expensive stays in hospital. It was hoped the “new paradigm can eventually be rolled out to public patients for the betterment of their health and the taxpayer”.
The medical director of Genesis Heart Care, Dr Geoffrey Holt, said that measuring patient outcomes provided an effective spur for improvements.
“Doctors knew we were measuring and that led them to become more focused on ensuring their patients did not fall outside expected results.”
The treatment of about 1,300 patients under the new regime showed significant improvements in results a year after angioplasty, where clogged arteries are opened and cleared with a balloon device and a stent inserted in the artery to maintain a healthy blood flow. Dr Holt said the Australian results compared well with an international rate of complications for a similar procedure.
