We found a great blog post from The Happy MD that clarifies a schism that’s likely to develop here in the American healthcare system. With an influx of patients gaining insurance through Obamacare (assuming those exchange websites finally work), primary care docs have essentially two directions they will be pushed in:
- One group of docs will be part of the patient mill, who due to the inherent volume of patients coming through a clinic will only see the very sick; here the doctor will spend a majority of time in a management position, overseeing nurses and physician assistants who actually interact with patients.
- Another group of docs will be part of the concierge medicine/direct care movement, and will see all of their patients for longer durations; here the doctor will free up this time by removing the red tape and operating their practice with limited assistance.
Here’s a brilliant point that Happy MD brings up–both paths require skills that ARE NOT TAUGHT IN MED SCHOOL. In the first path, docs fresh out of school will have little to no managerial experience. In the second path, docs will lack the marketing/business skills necessary to market a clinic and run it themselves.
However, we strongly encourage the surmountable obstacles of our direct care fork. First off, marketing skills are something that can be learned online, or instilled with some decent books. Not to mention, we’re offering our insight free of charge (seriously, just email us). In terms of the business acumen necessary to run a clinic, that does take a certain mindset, including self-motivation and diligence. But we’re sure that this problem is far more desirable than the frustrating experience of rushing to examine too many patients. And don’t forget, we’re constantly improving direct care’s first dedicated EMR and Practice Management software, so that YOU can more effectively manage your own clinic.