Iron Triangle In Nursing

The Iron Triangle concept originated with William Kissick MD, a professor of medicine from University of Pennsylvania, who worked on the original Medicare proposal. He studied systems worldwide, served the Public Health service as a planner and later wrote the important book Medicine’s Dilemmas: Infinite Needs Versus Finite Resources (Yale University Press, 1994.) The term “Iron Triangle is a term coined to describe the relationships between, cost, quality, and access within a healthcare system and in other institutions. Each aspect relies on the other. In order to improve one aspect the tradeoff would sometimes result in a negative for the other. Such as increasing quality the costs might be increased. The “iron triangle” means that, in equilibrium, increasing the performance of the health care system along any one of these dimensions can compromise one or both of the other dimensions, regardless of the amount that is spent on health care. Such tradeoffs are not always required, of course …show more content…
Working families are experiencing double-digit increases in the costs of health insurance, more out-of-pocket costs for doctor visits and skyrocketing prices for prescriptions, forcing many to delay getting needed medical care or not at all. Despite the large investments made in the health care system, serious concerns about the quality of care have emerged in recent years. Studies indicate that between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans die each year because of medical errors. Too often providers do not seem to have the knowledge or information they need to prescribe the correct treatment for their patients, even those with definite diagnoses. At times, people become lost in the large system and do not receive the care t needed. At other times, the lack of coordination between providers means that people receive unnecessary