Henry Ford Hospital Heart Physician Installed As President of the American College of Cardiology
DETROIT, April 1, 2008 /PRNewswire/ — The incoming president of the prestigious American College of Cardiology says the current state of health care costs are unsustainable, despite medicine’s technological innovations and treatment advancements.
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“We have been working harder, seeing more patients, providing newer and more testing and treatment options. This just simply cannot continue. We now have to focus on value,” says W. Douglas Weaver, M.D., F.A.C.C., division head of Cardiovascular Medicine at Henry Ford Hospital, who was installed as president of the American College of Cardiology on March 31. The presidency is a one-year term.
In the coming year, Dr. Weaver expects to continue the ACC’s push for national health care reform. By 2010, health care is projected to cost $2.7 trillion — a 30 percent increase since 2004, he says.
“The increased cost of health care will soon result in health care becoming unaffordable for the lower middle class. It could reduce the standard of living for retirees and reduce state spending for education in order for states to keep up with the rising costs of state health and pension benefits,” Dr. Weaver says.
Dr. Weaver says improving patient quality and safety and increasing the value of medical care is crucial to reforming health care in the United States, which spends an estimated $500 billion more annually than other industrialized countries.
“To lower costs and provide more value, we must make health care more convenient, rely on much more self care and use only effective technology. Ironically, putting patients first is the only effective way to increase our respect and practice viability,” Dr. Weaver says.
Dr. Weaver is the first Henry Ford physician to lead the American College of Cardiology, and the second Henry Ford physician in the past year elected president of a national physician organization. Ronald M. Davis, M.D., director of Henry Ford’s Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, currently serves as president of the American Medical Association.
The American College of Cardiology, a 34,000-member nonprofit medical society, is a leader in the formulation of health policy, standards and guidelines, and is a staunch supporter of cardiovascular research. It also provides professional education and operates national registries for the measuring and improving quality patient care.
Dr. Weaver received his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine and residency training at the University of Washington. He has been at Henry Ford for the past 10 years, and he has clinical interests in cardiac resuscitation, heart failure and acute coronary syndromes. He has also published more than 250 articles.
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