Response to Chowdhury
Pradeepta Chowdhury is certainly welcome to say “no to the ACO” (“ACO model won’t cure health care woes,” Tribune-Herald, June 10), but he could be hurting his patients and the East Hawaii economy if he does.
During the past year, a forward-thinking group of community physicians, the CEO of Hilo Medical Center, executives from HMSA and public and private business leaders in East Hawaii have been working together to find ways to help Hilo residents be healthier, make health insurance premiums more affordable and enable residents to get the high-quality care they need in East Hawaii.
I was privileged to provide assistance to this group. Not only can I assure your readers that the group didn’t pay me anything close to what Dr. Chowdhury claims, they didn’t blindly accept any advice I gave, either.
The good news for the residents of the community is that the physicians, hospital and employers in Hilo all agreed to work collaboratively, unlike in most parts of the country where battles among these groups have made it harder and more expensive for patients to get good care.
The new Regional Health Improvement Collaborative’s initial priorities are: (1) helping residents with heart problems get the care they need at home so they don’t have to be hospitalized; and (2) helping attract and retain primary-care physicians and key specialists in Hilo.
The ACO (accountable care organization) that Dr. Chowdhury fears is nothing more than a way to ensure physicians such as him can be paid adequately to provide good care for patients, without causing financial problems for the hospital or higher premiums for employers and residents.
As I said during my visits this spring, Hilo is halfway to greatness. You’re lucky to have Barry Taniguchi and other leaders willing to help push it all the way.
Harold D. Miller
President and CEO,
Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform
Nobody owns ‘aloha’
Lots of letters to the editor lately about who is entitled to or has ownership of “aloha.”
The claims made by some of those letter writers are ridiculous and offensive.
No single ethnic group or culture can own aloha, just as no single group can own “courage” or “happiness” or “goodwill.”
Human kindness knows no such restriction. Enough already!
A. Yamamoto
Hilo
