Posted by: AtlasMD

December 12, 2013

ACA Homogeneity — Direct Primary Care Doc Closes Up Shop In Wisconsin

We’re disheartened to share the news that Dr. Schupp closed his Madison, WI-direct primary care facility last month. He told the DPC Journal Editor, Michael Tetreault, “I wanted to try something different [entrepreneurial] and had over 100 patients were interested in the first two-months of startup. I was able to cover expenses with just 40 patients.”

Ouch. It’s incredible to hear that Dr. Schupp managed to break even with just 40 patients enrolled. Schupp continued to tell Tetreault, though, that several factors determined his decision to discontinue operation… one of which included the uncertainty of prospective patients related to the Affordable Care Act.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

December 11, 2013

NPR Visits ACA Prison Glitch. Gets Touche.

In the mood for some high brow hahas? Then you’ll want to read NPR’s “prison glitch” coverage. Have you experienced this malfunction yet? Wait, that would mean you were actually signing up on the Federal insurance exchange (jk). Either way, according to NPR, the Obama administration says it has patched hundreds of software bugs infecting the government’s health insurance website.

What’s the “prison glitch”? We’re glad you asked. Evidently, Martha Freeman of Pennsylvania encountered the bug while signing up for coverage for herself and her adult children. The insurance website asked for documentation of the children’s incarceration status. It’s worth noting that her kids have never been to prison.

Freeman figured she was “stuck in solitary,” says NPR, until she called a toll-free help line and found out she wasn’t alone. Others have been experiencing this bug, too.

We do have to hand it to NPR. Their tone is hilarious. “Stuck in solitary” is only the first of prison-themed puns in the article.

Posted by: AtlasMD

December 11, 2013

Student Discusses Atlas MD, Capitalism And The Free Market In Research Paper

We’re blessed to have been the thesis of Sam Jordan’s academic paper, “Medicine Shrugged.” Originally from Salina, Kansas, she’s now a freshman at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia and is majoring in Economics. She included email correspondences with Dr. Josh as part of her sources to build a case for free market medicine. Texts from Ayn Rand, Alan Greenspan and other intellectuals were cited alongside our personal experience.

Thanks to Sam, for letting us share her work with our supporters. We have to admit, we blushed when she compared us to Aluminum Company of America. ALCOA is known for its shining example of profit-maximization and price-minimization in Greenspan’s paper, “Trust.” It serves as a concise way of understanding our mission to cut the red tape. And yes, it’s true: we’re motivated to offer the best healthcare while making the most money possible. Sam had no hesitation in addressing that.

We’ve included the complete work below. Take a look. And if you’re interested in a digital copy of Sam’s paper, send us a line at hello[at]atlas.md …

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Posted by: AtlasMD

December 10, 2013

Direct Care Has A Brand New Face In Philadelphia

R Health in Philly launched their version of direct care back in August. Mason Reiner, the founder and CEO of the bootstrapped healthcare startup, says “[I saw] an opportunity to help consumers cut down on healthcare costs through more meaningful patient interactions and 24-hour access through telehealth.”

Welcome to the “wild” side of primary care, R Health. Wild if only because we’re willing to take big risks to earn big rewards. Rewards like quality relationships with our patients, and in our case even tweets like this:

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Posted by: AtlasMD

December 6, 2013

Everybody Laissez Faire Tonight; New Book Reveals Intimate Details About Ayn Rand’s Life

Doug French curates and reviews books for Laissez Faire Books and also blogs at Libertarian Standard. He mentioned us recently in a review of Nathaniel Branden’s book Judgment Day: My Years With Ayn Rand. He came right out with a reference to the age of Obamacare, saying, “… The writings of Ayn Rand are inspiring some doctors to push back. A small, but growing group of doctors want their patients to pay cash. That’s right, cash. Their own cash.” Then he went on to mention our practice. We’re flattered to have Atlas MD’s name beside an inspirational figure like Rand. Her philosophy guided us to where we are today, practicing medicine, changing people’s lives, and changing the way other doctor’s can change their patients’ lives.

French even says that our practice “sounds like Rand’s free-market Shangri-La — Galt’s Gulch.” Gulp. That’s a sweeping vision to live up to. Although we’re in good company. French reminds us in his review that Ayn Rand has had tremendous influence on the likes of other innovative entrepreneurs and business leaders: BB&T’s John Allison, Whole Foods’ John Mackey, and Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales to name a few. And we did release direct care’s first EMR, so we’ll admit that we’re ambitious. But our battle for common sense is ongoing.

ORDER JUDGEMENT DAY: MY LIFE WITH AYN RAND ON LAISSEZ FAIRE BOOKS

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Posted by: AtlasMD

December 4, 2013

This Is The Best Advertisement For Direct Care (And We Didn’t Even Come Up With It)

Stop what you’re doing and read this article from The New York Times. In a piece called “As Hospital Prices Soar, a Stitch Tops $500” writer Elisabeth Rosenthal relays multiple stories of outrageous hospital charges. California Pacific Medical Center’s tidy emergency room treated Deepika Singh who had cut her knee at a barbecue and a toddler named Orla Roche who had sliced open her forehead on a coffee table. Here’s what their bills looked like: Ms. Singh’s three stitches were billed for $2,229.11; Orla’s forehead was sealed with a dab of skin glue that cost $1,696.

And great job, investigative journalists, researchers, everyone who’s fed up with the arbitrary nature of pricing. According to government statistics hospital charges represent about a third of the $2.7 trillion annual United States health care bill, the biggest single segment. These charges are the largest driver of medical inflation, too, a new study in The Journal of the American Medical Association found.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

December 2, 2013

Atlas.md EMR 1.0 Is Live

We’re excited to announce that Atlas.md EMR is open for public sign-up. Thanks to all the doctors who submitted feedback. You helped us create a lean, efficient and effective tool for cash-only medicine.

SIGN UP FOR ATLAS.MD EMR

Of course, no software update would be complete without some new improvements. Check out what else is new with Atlas.md.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

November 27, 2013

Touche. The Federal Health Exchange Website Mocked By Actual Insurance Company.

As low as this blow is, it seems almost destined. Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield has launched three ads that tell people to skip Healthcare.gov and visit their website instead. And what’s there reasoning? Because Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield’s site actually works.

Chris Matyszczyk of CNET reported on this advertising development (and included his own personal insurance woes). He writes, “Somehow, though, there’s always this nagging feeling with insurance companies — and, indeed, with the whole health industry — that the drive for a buck (with the frequent assistance of technology) is often at the expense of its customers’ mental, as well as financial, health.”

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Posted by: AtlasMD

November 26, 2013

Four In Ten Americans Are Clueless About Obamacare

You’ll have to read more about this disappointing survey yourself. It actually caused us physical pain to write that blog title. Mostly since that 40% obviously isn’t following our quest to cut red tape. Oh, and these results came only one day after a Gallup poll found that Americans respond more favorably to the name Affordable Care Act than Obamacare.

Obviously we’re fans of business and business depends on advertising to earn customers. We get that. But the idea that our government and media have turned this giant, singular fiasco into two separately perceived entities is troubling. Again, it’s a confusion that’s doing nothing to provide healthcare to anyone. Effectively it’s like spinning your wheels and saying, “Look how far we’ve gone.” And really we haven’t gone anywhere. We’re still waiting to hear stories about the great healthcare that’s going to magically manifest itself.

Posted by: AtlasMD

November 22, 2013

LISTEN: Atlas MD Podcast, Ep. 12

LISTEN: Atlas MD Podcast, Ep. 12

And we’re back. You can stream the new Atlas MD podcast on iTunes. We’ve had some recent speaking engagements, one of which was with the Wichita Rotary. Little known fact, our local Rotary Club is the seventeenth largest in the world! Who’d have thought?

Also, thanks Dr. Ray Siedel from Ruidoso, New Mexico, who stopped in to discuss his direct care transition that’s happening over the next six weeks. We have multiple doctors scheduled to come in every week for the next month. We’re always glad to talk shop, so let us know if you want to stop in.

LISTEN TO EPISODE 12 OF THE ATLAS MD PODCAST HERE

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