Do you think AI will reduce medical costs? Probably not.
It should if done properly.
Seems to me pretty useful to set up "scanners" in big box retails stores like Walmart, CVS and whatever the way we've got pharmacies now. Customer goes in, strips nekkid, does as quick a full body detailed scan as one can do, and send that off to the database (which needs to be built) and the database send you a document that says "you better check this out, or 6 out of 10 times you gonna die within five years".
They should also add to pharmacies the ability to draw blood, and inspect it for EVERYTHING possibly wrong with you that can be detected by a blood sample, at a very nominal cost.
And they remove the need to have a referrral from a entry doctor to see a specialists, you just need the MRI or Blood test result which tells you to go see the specialist.
And insurance doesn't cover any of this - you pay. You don't care about your health enough to get an MRI or test your blood - fine, don't do it.
If that stuff were easy and cheap (why can't it be?), the cost of basic health care could decline quite a lot I think.
But if the goal is to reduce health care costs, that's relatively easy. Compel every doctor and clinic to produce a menu of services with clear precise prices. Then let them all compete on price, like everything else in the free market does. This is so obvious it's ridiculous. Also, mandate that any time you see a physician and they do something to you, they have to tell you the cost in advance. Rather than the doctor saying "Come see me again after six months" the doctor has to say "Come see me again in six months to do test A and test B at a price of $420".
What the USA health care system needs is more "pay as you go clinics" with clear prices for services (which are explained in advance). Because so many people in the US pay for medical care via insurance, the medical profession seems to think that what the consumer actually pays in cash is not even an issue worth discussing, they just recommend what they recommend, do it to you, and then surprise you with an outlandish bill for $1,200 when you thought everything was free. It's the only service industry I know of where the salesperson tells you what service they're going to provide, and don't mention the price unless you ask.
It's like a restaurant with a menu with no prices, and the waiter orders for you, and I hope you like it, now pay up. |
