Managing health care risk must be evidence based and not harm patients or the common good
The decision by Australia’s largest private health insurer Medibank to not reimburse hospitals for 165 hospital-acquired complications that it deems preventable has the stated objective of improving patient care and thereby containing costs.1 As with all health care claims, this requires assessment of potential efficacy as well as possible perverse or harmful outcomes.
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- 1. Medibank. Hospital acquired complications, 2015. https://www.medibank.com.au/content/dam/medibank/calvary/medibank_hospital_acquired_complications_list_2015.pdf (accessed Nov 2105).
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