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Philip Hirsch's avatar

Ben - I had to to chuckle reading this. But I promise you, it was sardonic not in amusement. It is actually fairly straightforward to establish an integrated service line in terms of workflows, finances and other pertinent factors. But IT HAS TO BE ESTABLISHED IN ADVANCE. To assume that it will happen ad hoc is like hoping flowers will grow where not seed has been planted. Thank you for continuing to be a voice of reason and insight in this arena.

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Ben Miller's avatar

Phil - so true. I just don't understand why we don't do more of this. to your point, in advance! Well, I do know why - because health care is a morass of competing business interests....

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Spherical Phil - Phil Lawson's avatar

True - "I've just begun to default to reminding people that the system is giving us exactly what the system is designed to give us." So what is the model that is designed to give us what we need and how do we get there?

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Jason Whitehead's avatar

i love this. it's as though we've given up on taking meaningful curious steps at times. A throw your hands up and say that's the way it is, without curiosity, creativity, or care. That's a struggle with the specialization aspect of health care as well. Rarely, do I come across people who imagine tangible connections outside their areas of specialization.

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Ben Miller's avatar

We only know what we know, right? I think sometimes people just expect fragmented care because it's all they've ever known. We just accept it because we don't know what else should be. They hyperspecialization of American health care is a core driver for all of this - almost like it's become the fluoride in the water - it's always there whether we are aware of it or not.

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