From Treatment Compartmentalization to Disease Management

Traditionally, Health Care delivery in the U.S. has not been very well coordinated with each segment of the Health Care system seeking to maximize its own performance independently of the others. For example, elements such as hospital stays, outpatient visits, and the use of pharmaceuticals are, for the most part, analyzed as separate aspects of providing patient care. Since each segment was managed independently, when the cost of the Health Care system as a whole became a concern, each segment focused only on its own cost structure. Cost pressure was most intense for easily identifiable and quantifiable costs, rather than for the other components of treating an illness. This relatively uncoordinated reduction of costs in selected segments of the health care system probably did not improve the quality of the system or reduce its total cost. The new focus on disease management seeks to improve patient outcomes while reducing cost by considering the whole disease process. The product is no longer a pill or a procedure but a disease outcome. This presentation will discuss Pfizerʹs first steps in that direction.