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Article: An ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure; Health commissioner's digital vision designed to revamp primary care.(Health Care Report)
- Article from:
- Crain's New York Business
- Article date:
- October 20, 2008
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Crain Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Judith Messina
An activist for better health care, city Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden believes the city could prevent many deaths and illnesses if it had more information about the things that make New Yorkers sick and took action to prevent them, including paying doctors more to keep patients healthy.
Today, it's almost impossible to measure doctors' performance or gaps in the system that are barriers to disease prevention. Of 1.5 million New Yorkers with high blood pressure, for example, the city estimates that 53% do not have it under control.
"We don't pay doctors more for doing things that save more lives,'' says Dr. ...