Posted by: AtlasMD

November 21, 2013

An Open Letter To Common Sense

Thank you, Todd Keefer (@FreeMktMonkey on Twitter)!

As is in flavor online, Todd Keefer recently composed his own Open Letter. His was addressed to Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Michael F. Consedine. Keefer mentioned Atlas MD as an example of a realistic alternative to the current insurance scheme. He (and many others) believes that insurance companies profit not from providing care but by clever manipulation that stems, grossly, from participants’ own ignorance.

What we as a nation are up against is an ingrained idea that insurance is the only way to get good care. Our practice’s philosophy is a reaction to this mindset. A mindset that enables those in power to stay in power. This power comes both through the industry’s own influence (we’re talking billion dollar companies in some cases e.g. WellPoint and other large-scale conglomerates), but also through a “benevolent” administration that believes more insurance will somehow fix a flawed system.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

November 19, 2013

How Will Atlas.md EMR Help You Run A Direct Care Practice?

How Will Atlas.md EMR Help You Run A Direct Care Practice?

In a recent post on Cure MD, the common EHR blog-lytizing was in full effect. As usual, the site claims, “An Electronic Health Record (EHR) system helps a practice in more than one ways [sic].” Then we see the common empty signifiers — improved workflows, improved cash flow, improved patient flow, and, our favorite red tape phenomenon, Meaningful Use! All of this to quote, “Sav[e] time and meet[…] regulatory requirements.” They then list out some more benefits that EHRs offer the fee-for-service doctor. But notice, they never mention what kind of doctor. Just, doctor.

That’s one of many points of comparison we’ll draw with the competitors versus our direct care EMR, Atlas.md. Right off the bat, our product is made for a specific doctor, a direct primary care physician operating a cash-only facility.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

November 18, 2013

New To The Atlas MD-Style Of Direct Care? This One’s For You.

We noticed an article floating around on Twitter this week. Fox 8 Cleveland wrote about Dr. Doug Nunamaker on their website back in June. It summarizes our Wichita-based operation. For those in the know, you’ve heard us proudly sharing our vision of healthcare reform–one based on actual work, actual negotiation, and actual market principles. For those who are new to direct care, this is just one of many affirmative media moments we’ve had this year.

CHECK OUT THE FOX 8 CLEVELAND ARTICLE HERE

In Dr. Doug’s words:

“My professional life is better than expected, my family life and personal time is better than expected. This is everything I wanted out of family medicine.”

And as any supporter of direct care will tell you, the hardest part is communicating the explicit advantages and success of our model. Many people can’t believe that we’re able to offer more affordable care and spend more time with our patients WITHOUT insurance. However, it’s a matter of cutting the red tape, and eliminating needless bureaucracy. It’s about pushing for a healthcare system that uses insurance to cover UNEXPECTED phenomenon. Not the things that are anticipated or easily treated by a family doctor.

Posted by: AtlasMD

November 16, 2013

We Rolled Out Another Atlas.md EMR Update

We Rolled Out Another Atlas.md EMR Update

Direct care’s EMR is constantly evolving. Let us know what you think about the software in the comments section.

Here’s what’s new in this software update.

Resume Patient Enrollment
Some people were losing their data during the online enrollment process. Now if you leave and come back to the enrollment form, you’ll see a  “Resume” button. It will bring you back to where you left off.

NOTE: We’re in the process of making this feature compatible with all browsers. If you’re still having trouble, send us a message and let us know how you’re accessing Atlas.md

New “Finish Form Later” Feature
During any page of online enrollment, patients can opt to come back later. All they have to do is enter their email address. They’ll receive a unique link in their inbox which will let them return to the sign-up page.

SIGN UP FOR YOUR BETA TRIAL OF ATLAS.MD EMR

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Posted by: AtlasMD

November 14, 2013

The Story Of The $1,000 Tetanus Shot

The Story Of The $1,000 Tetanus Shot

Olivier Van Houtte is currently a medical student. His blog post about a bike race turned trip to the ER makes for a compelling read. And to answer your immediate question–no, this tetanus shot did not include a band-aid made of pure gold or a side of heavily steeped saffron tea.

Olivier takes a compassionate look at his medical bills, going line item by line item. He’s fine with a $2,500 CT scan because yes it would have saved his life if he had internal bleeding in his brain. And he’s okay with an $800 ambulance fee if only to compensate for the on-site EMTs who immediately attended to him post-accident.

However, he’s curious how a nurse swabbing his arm with alcohol and administering a $15 shot in his arm was marked up to $1,000. Really, come on.

READ THE COMPLETE BLOG POST ON KEVIN MD

Posted by: AtlasMD

November 14, 2013

Uh Oh, WebMD Makes Millions Promoting Obamacare

Did you hear about this? About two months ago, a high-ranking healthcare official piled on the praise for WebMD. Why? Because they launched an online resource to help Americans navigate the complex law.

WebMD even had some nice things to say about Obamacare. According to The Washington Times, “In one article, it predicted doctors might pick up more patients and crowed in an article titled ‘7 Surprising Things About the Affordable Care Act’ that many consumers already had received insurance refunds under the law.”

Wow. Are they talking about the same Federal program we’ve been hearing about? Well, yes, but there’s a catch: “The company, which millions of Americans regularly read for health news, also stood to earn millions of dollars from a federal contract to teach doctors about Obamacare.”

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Posted by: AtlasMD

November 13, 2013

The Atlantic Says, Healthcare.gov Tech ‘Surge’ Might Miss Its Deadline

This new post from the Atlantic is worth a read. The deadline for Obamacare enrollment is creeping up on us. Are Americans going to be able to wrap themselves in double-thick red tape? Who knows? However, this piece brought something else to our attention–the law surrounding pre-existing conditions.

Patients who have a pre-existing condition must sign up for an exchange plan by the end of the year (Jan. 1, 2014) in order to qualify for the unmodified fees.

As you know, we take a somewhat unbiased approach to the exchange. Yes, we think it might be one step forward, two steps back, but we’ve said it many times–if Americans can get more affordable wrap-around coverage, excellent. Only problem now is that people with obesity, diabetes, cancers and other serious conditions will only have a tiny window of opportunity to find an approved plan. And being as healthcare.gov is comfortably dysfunctional, this isn’t looking good.

And not to use fear tactics, but the fact is that many doctors don’t want to accept the exchange plans because of concern they themselves won’t be fairly compensated. This makes for an unfortunate conundrum: If someone has diabetes, they are A) running out of time to get fairly priced insurance and B) if they do acquire it, doctors might not accept it.

READ THE COMPLETE POST FROM THE ATLANTIC

Posted by: AtlasMD

November 13, 2013

Direct Care Is Routine Care Fit For A Cat

Direct Care Is Routine Care Fit For A Cat

Wait, come again? Okay, so the title of our post might seem nuts. But not after you read Ari Armstrong’s new piece on The Objective Standard. It’s called “Prior to Concierge Medicine, My Access to Health Care Was Inferior to that of My Cat.” As you know, Armstrong interviewed our own Josh Umbehr a few months ago and supports direct care’s free market approach to healthcare reform.

He compares his own scheduling nightmares (three months for a routine physical!) with that of his sick cat. His cat was able to see a vet and get blood work done in a matter of days. This led Armstrong to ask, “Why is it… that my cat has better access to health care than I have?”

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Posted by: AtlasMD

November 12, 2013

Have You Heard About The “Cadillac Tax” Yet?

Here’s a funny development in the Obamacare story that’s emerging (actually more like shipwrecking than emerging, but that’s just semantics). Check out this article from CBS going over a law that’s set to be in effect come 2018. Evidently companies providing insurance benefits to employees might face what’s termed the “Cadillac tax” if they offer TOO MANY BENEFITS to their employees. Wait what? So CBS says, “The ‘Cadillac tax’ is one of the tools in the Affordable Care Act designed to bring down costs — by encouraging people to cut down on unnecessary health care expenses.”

First off, that’s silly. That means you’re going to tax companies and dissuade them from offering benefits.

Second, this is coming from an administration that’s FORCING people to buy better insurance plans, with more benefits. And sometimes these better plans are forcing single men to pay for MATERNITY LEAVE, when they can never have a child.

READ THE COMPLETE CBS ARTICLE HERE