Health Care Reform Here to Stay, Says JCS Editor

Newswise — While tough issues remain to be worked out, "health care reform is here and here to stay," according to an editorial in the May issue of The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry.

Growing momentum and a new administration in Washington provide reason for optimism about the prospects for health care reform, according to Dr. Mutaz B. Habal, Director of Tampa Bay Craniofacial Center in Tampa, Fla., and Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery. "Traditional players in patient care are out," writes Dr. Habal. "New players are in, and they want a system that works."

Reform "Will Be More at Hand" Next Year, Author PredictsWhile it has the best medical care and the "most compassionate physicians" in the world, the U.S. health care system has been "increasingly dysfunctional for a while," according to Dr. Habal. He cites the lack of universal access to care as irrefutable evidence that the system has failed.

"Therefore, the time is now...society is ripe and eager for reform," according to Dr. Habal. After years of empty promises, he believes the "positive energy" of the new administration is strong enough to make long-deferred health care reform a reality at last. "We hope that our patients and we ourselves will be cared for by a new and meaningful system." Dr. Habal writes. He expresses confidence that, "By the beginning of next year, reform will be more at hand."

Dr. Habal views the insurance companies and hospital administrations as competing armies "fighting to develop and impose a business model for their own profit." He highlights the central role of doctors in maintaining the "rational care" of patients: "Above all, without physicians, there will be no patient care." Dr. Habal identifies three critical issues that need to be addressed in reforming the health care system:

"¢ Access to care. As the number of insured and underinsured Americans continues to grow, the enormity of the problem overwhelms "band aid" efforts to solve the problem of access. Meanwhile, underinsured patients resort to emergency rooms, where they receive no preventive care and are likely to become sicker and at higher risk as a result."¢ Quality of care. In Dr. Habal's view, health care quality is unfortunately defined in terms of efficiency or cost. He writes, "The convenient thing about this issue is sufficiently ill defined that each faction in the war on reform uses it for a different understanding." True reform will require a new focus on patient outcomes and comparison of meaningful data."¢ Affordability of care. Dr. Habal sees physicians and organizations receiving that consume the fewest health dollars being the ones to receive cuts. "Yet the two warring armies are getting a windfall," Dr. Habal writes, with executives receiving "unimaginable sums" and hospitals building "giant structures"¦with no use beside storage and collecting dust."

Of the two warring factions, Dr. Habal believes the insurance industry is winning—for now. However, as a universal health care system becomes a reality, there will be attempts to "siphon off the green infusion" that previously went to the insurance industry. Meanwhile, Dr. Habal sees hospitals hiring physicians across specialties, at great cost, in the hope of recovering profits after the current global crisis stabilizes.

While he is optimistic, Dr. Habal acknowledges that only time will tell whether there will ever be a global health care system. "However, I assure you all that the physician will still be working because in the future as in the present and the past, there will still be disease and trauma as has been known since man was created," he concludes. "A physician is always needed."

About The Journal of Craniofacial SurgeryThe Journal of Craniofacial Surgery (www.jcraniofacialsurgery.com) serves as a forum of communication for all those involved in craniofacial and maxillofacial surgery. Coverage ranges from practical aspects of craniofacial surgery to the basic science that underlies surgical practice. Affiliates include 14 major specialty societies around the world, including the American Association of Pediatric Plastic Surgeons, the American Academy of Pediatrics Section of Pediatric Plastic Surgery, the American Society of Craniofacial Surgeons, the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons, the Argentine Society of Plastic Surgery Section of Pediatric Plastic Surgery, the Asian Pacific Craniofacial Association, the Association of Military Plastic Surgeons of the U.S., the Brazilian Society of Craniofacial Surgeons, the European Society of Craniofacial Surgery, the International Society of Craniofacial Surgery, the Japanese Society of Craniofacial Surgery, the Korean Society of Craniofacial Surgery, the Thai Cleft and Craniofacial Association, and the World Craniofacial Foundation.

About Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) is a leading international publisher for healthcare professionals and students with nearly 300 periodicals and 1,500 books in more than 100 disciplines publishing under the LWW brand, as well as content-based sites and online corporate and customer services. LWW is part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry.

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