Excess Costs in Health Care

From a Scientific American online article by Adam Myers:

I once witnessed the care of a patient who suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which blocks airflow to lungs and makes it difficult to breathe. Over the course of a particularly hot Texas summer, he was admitted to the hospital time and time again—racking up more than $60,000 in medical expenses. Doctors were treating his breathing problems repeatedly, but they did not understand why the patient continued to have trouble.

One population health–oriented physician dug a bit deeper, holding in-depth conversations about the patient in the hospital—and later, having a team member visit his home. There, it was discovered that he lived without an air conditioner. A caring individual purchased and installed a $400 air conditioner for him, and his hospital visits stopped.