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medpundit |
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Thursday, September 25, 2003The intense negative feedback from patients lasted two or three months. Hundreds of patients transferred to other physicians....The turbulence in the practice lasted six months. Many patients were angry, while others were sad. It was difficult to go anywhere in twon because of the amount of negative feelings. But like lancing a boil, the pain soon gave way to relief: Now they are all glad they have more financial freedom. Their racks of active medical records are now as full as before the change. Their patients are more satisfied, and patients do not complain that they cannot get in. ....The physicians almost always leave at 5pm. Each physician has one morning when he makes nursing home rounds. Each physician has one day off each week. They have no Saturday hours. ....In the first year of the "no commercial insurance" policy, the physicians increased their income. Now they are ecstatic about the decision....the accounting sheets demonstrate a collection rate of 88.6% for 2002! And they still accept Medicaid and Medicare because they feel they have an obligation to serve the underserved. According to the author, the doctors don't have much competition in their small town. The only other primary care physician in town is one internist. I'm not sure if this strategy would work in a suburb or a city where patients only have to travel a few blocks to go to a new doctor rather than a few miles, but as I wait and wait (going on the fourth week now) for the first of my insurance company payments, their approach sure is tempting. And, you know, it really is a better arrangement. It makes the patient aware that his healthcare insurance is a business agreement between himself and his insurance company, not his doctor and the insurance company. posted by Sydney on 9/25/2003 10:20:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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