Dr. Arnold Relman’s fine article (“Facing the crisis in U.S. medicine,” Feb. 17) proposes his scheme for universal health care. He omits what many other plans also ignore, the consideration of quality. Most plans for health care stress cost, but there are no quality assurance provisions. Quality is the difference between life and death for each of us and our families.
A health system that ignores the quality of care will lose more patients than one which stresses good medicine. For example, I resigned from the state public aid program a few years ago in disgust because patients were limited to one emergency a week and blank treatment forms were not available (a unique form of rationing health care).
An independent quality review panel must be made a part of whatever new health care system we create. Though cost control is important, one must remember the old farmer’s wisdom about quality: “The oats are cheaper once they have gone through the horse.” Any future health care legislation should include a “fresh oats” clause.
