NHS Costs and charging: Publicity, shame and complexity

Commenting on today’s press about Jeremy Hunt has created waves with his new plan to state the cost of medicines on the label and with his comment last night (July 2^nd) on Question Time that he is not opposed to charging patients for missed NHS appointments. The story is covered here.

2020Health’s top messages

• Our short paper ‘Responsibility in healthcare: changing the culture’ (2010) recommended publicising the cost of medicines, devices and A&E attendance
• We all need reminding to use NHS resources wisely – advertising the costs of treatment or missed treatment would help inform us
• Flat fines for missing NHS appointments would hit those with the most complicated lives

Our take – clinical and political

2020health does not want to see anyone deterred from seeking medical advice when they feel they need it; flat fines for missed appointments may have this unintended consequence.

We value things more when we know what they are worth – especially the Brits who are more interested in value for money that European counterparts

All Political Parties should support schemes to reduce waste in the NHS

Some in the press have called this idea ‘shaming’ – feeling shame is important – shame means we feel we have done wrong and are more likely to redress a situation and try better next time.

Quote

Julia Manning, CEO of 2020health said: “We would not want to see a child who has just left care, or someone who is homeless, being told they can’t’ rebook an appointment until they have paid a fine. However we agree that we value things more when we know what they are worth and we recommended five years ago that we start publicising the cost of medicines on the packet. We think this will lead to a reduction in waste.”