Benjamin G C
Physician Exec. 1998 Nov-Dec;24(6):64-5.
There are more than 17,000 nursing homes in the United States providing care for 1.7 million disabled and elderly individuals. Medicare and Medicaid paid $28 billion in 1997 for nursing home services, more than one half of all nursing home expenditures. Improvements in the quality of care in these facilities and ensuring value for public expenditures has been a long sought after goal. Recent actions by the federal government are designed to strengthen state and federal authority and processes to accomplish this goal. Physician leadership in this area is essential to its success.
美国有超过17000家疗养院，为170万残疾人和老年人提供护理服务。1997年，医疗保险和医疗补助计划为疗养院服务支付了280亿美元，占疗养院所有支出的一半以上。提高这些机构的护理质量并确保公共支出的价值，一直是人们长期追求的目标。联邦政府最近采取的行动旨在加强州和联邦的权力及程序，以实现这一目标。医生在这一领域的领导作用对其成功至关重要。
