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Info: "Escape Fire: The Fight To Rescue American Healthcare" is available at select theaters, on iTunes, and video on demand.
Our guest is Matthew Heineman, director and producer of the documentary film “Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare.” Heineman shares the premise of the film which examines the deficiencies in America’s healthcare system and explore cost effective solutions. The film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and is currently showing in select theaters. Heineman co-directed the movie with veteran filmmaker Susan Froemke. He talks about the issues that arise from fee-for-service medical reimbursement that compensates doctors for each procedure, and in some cases leads to overtreatment of preventable diseases. He highlights alternatives to this method of physician compensation, such as the plan adopted by the Cleveland Clinic which pays doctors a salary and incentivizes them to provide better treatment as measured by patient’s results. Heineman introduces viewers to Dr. Erin Martin, an Oregon general practitioner who quits her clinic after feeling that the productivity quotas were being imposed upon her and other doctors. She states that the quality of care was compromised in this manner. Heineman shares solutions being developed which include an experiment by the military to use acupuncture in the place of pain medication, a fellowship program by Dr. Andrew Weil that teaches doctors about the importance of nutrition in preventing illness, and research by Dr. Dean Ornish demonstrating how lifestyle change can prevent and even reverse heart disease. Matthew talks about why he became a filmmaker, and what he plans to do for his next project.
