The current Medicare operation—reimbursing medical goods and services to a growing number of people without basing the reimbursement benefit on the actual cost of the services—is unsustainable, but there are some possible remedies.
Hospital medicine has developed into a recognized subspecialization area that will likely require board certification once the ethical issues surrounding clinical care within the hospital have been addressed.
The hospitalist model should be modified to ensure that inpatients receive continuity of care and that their expressed values regarding treatment are maintained once they are admitted.
An argument is made against the use of emotional intelligence testing in the medial applications process until more conclusive research supports its use.