Why it seems like your doctor doesn’t care about you

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/11/17/doctor-care-compassion-medical-system/

by bookofjoe • 4 years ago

13 3 4 years ago

bookofjoe• 4 years ago

"Because they don’t generate revenue from procedures, non-procedural specialists are pressured to increase their patient volume and are often given appointment slots as short as 10 minutes."

Which I've heard from friends in the field is quite accurate especially in the family practitioners; the business leads want to keep cranking the volume (then all it takes is one person in the morning being late and it offsets the whole day).

The article also fails to mention patients who are at the end of their 10mins and then mention some quite serious issues which require more lengthy tests which now also eat more time.

I feel it is a sad state to be in; and I'm grateful there are some out there that are still actually willing to help given the nightmare scenarios they deal with daily.

M1ch431• 4 years ago

I've been very pleased with my experience at a Direct Primary Care (DPC) practice.

They limit the amount of patients that they take, don't deal with insurance companies, charge a flat fee monthly (no payment required for most procedures/visits), prescribe and fill most generic medications at cost, and most scans/tests are heavily discounted.

Appointments aren't rushed, they are usually scheduled same-day or next-day, and they really take the time to figure out how I'm actually doing. They just recently hired a receptionist at the practice that I go to, but pretty much all of the staff they have present are just nurses/assistants. They don't need a bunch of people present to deal with insurance companies, which reduces overhead.

This differs from Concierge practices, which usually charge monthly/yearly in order to see them; but still bill insurance/have co-pays for regular office visits/tests/etc. AFAIK. Overall, it seems like their rates are much higher in general and they usually don't offer reduced price prescriptions/tests. But DPC practices and Concierge practices are similar in the fact that they reduce the amount of patients that they have.

As a patient, I truly don't think doctors can practice medicine well when they are rushing around all day. Doesn't matter how good a doctor's memory is.

Why it seems like your doctor doesn’t care about you

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