Toby Cosgrove, M.D., president and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, talks about the Affordable Care Act’s effects on healthcare in general and the Cleveland Clinic in particular.
Becker’s Hospital Review reported that Dr. Cosgrove said ”he sees some positive changes, noting healthcare inflation has fallen while quality metrics have gone up, in addition to 13 million new people becoming enrolled in health insurance.”
Dr. Cosgrove explained that two and a half years ago, Cleveland Clinic knew it must cut the budget. He said the clinic planned to reduce the budget by 20 percent, or $1.5 billion out of $6.5 billion, and in the last 18 months has taken out about $500 million in costs.
He touted Care Pass, Cleveland Clinic’s system of streamlining procedures, which has let it reduce spending significantly.
“‘With Care Pass, you take the very best of how you do a procedure, take care of somebody and standardize it. That takes out the variation. As you take the variation out, you improve the quality and reduce the cost,” Dr. Cosgrove told Becker’s.
The news service also said that the clinic’s “renowned same-day appointment philosophy has enabled more than 1 million same-day appointments a year at Cleveland Clinic facilities. Additionally, the clinic has developed a mobile stroke unit, one of two in the country.”
Cleveland Clinic will further expand its virtual patient-physician visits based on mobile apps.
