Conference Coverage
Still, Dr. Pak said there are some reasons to feel hopeful. "The ACA will relieve the suffering of millions and will potentially reduce the number of people who end up in the ICU because of better primary care," he said, among other benefits such as the ACA’s increased funding for critical care research.
"Think aggressively"
"It’s serious. You’ve got to cut costs," said Dr. Diamond, who said it was a good time to be a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant, as they are more in demand than are high-salary specialists.
Having appropriate software to improve efficiencies is also essential to the new world of ACA, said Dr. Diamond. "What is coming is clinical integration," he said, referring to ACA mandates on collecting patient and financial data. "You’re also going to be measured on a daily basis on clinical protocols, so you need to be thinking about this very aggressively. How will you have the IT to support what you’ve got to do?"
Included in this overhaul, said Dr. Diamond, must be an attitude change toward working with other providers, including local hospitals and pharmacies, in order to decrease the variation of practice and adhere to evidence-based medicine protocols and national guidelines.
Dr. Levine defended the ACA saying that the current system is "unsustainable" and that for the first time, portions of the ACA such as value-based purchasing, "which holds groups of people responsible" would help the CMS implement its 5-year plan for Americans to have "Better care, better health, and lower costs."
"The past is past," said Dr. Diamond. "You have to embrace change."