Grossman Advocates Reforming Health Care

The chairman and CEO of the New England Medical Center, Inc., emphasized the continued need for reforms to America's managed health care system in a speech last night at the Harvard Medical School's celebration of the second annual nationwide "Primary Health Care Day."

Dr. Jerome H. Grossman, who calls himself a "battle-scarred survivor" of 25 years in the primary care business, has pioneered innovative ways for delivering managed health care. His speech focused on his work in the corporate American health care system.

Throughout the past two decades, Grossman has directed numerous studies pinpointing wasteful practices, including one in which he was able to "get one-third out of costs just by presenting good data" to doctors and nurses, making the necessary changes obvious.

Grossman warned the medical students in the hundred-member audience that the "golden era" of the medical profession, when doctors worked 40 hours a week, were paid $150,000, and could set their own fees, is over.

Today, he said, various restrictions are in place, including pressure on primary care physicians to keep costs down by avoiding referring patients to specialist. Future physicians must be willing to accept the uncertainties and risks within the health care system, Grossman said.

Student reactions at the dinner afterward were mixed.

Jules Lin, a first-year medical student, said he worried about the future. "I left the speech a little more confused about medicine," he said.

Arash Anoshiravani, another first-year student, was also concerned.

"All the solutions so far are not taking into consideration health care for the poor," Anoshiravani said. "Dealing with this problem will be the biggest challenge for primary-care physicians in the future."

Eve Rittenberg recalled Grossman mentioning how the opportunity to establish universal health care coverage was recently lost.

"I hope that we will be able to address these issues again in the future," she said.

Grossman's speech helped future physicians recognize the need for active participation in reforming health care, said Alexa Kemeny, student coordinator for the lecture series.

"Most medical students come into medical school with a stronger background in the basic sciences than in the ins and outs of the market economy," she said.