You know the drill already. Healthcare costs are forcing doctors to see obscene numbers of patients just to keep their lights on, causing many doctors to spend less time with their patients. Rose Egge contributed a reassuring article to Concierge Medicine Today (CMT) going over techniques that some Seattle physicians are adopting to counter this trend. And one turns out just to be concierge medicine. It figures we’d make a list of this nature.
Category Archives: Announcements
June 14, 2013
June 14, 2013
Writer Contributes Op/Ed Piece To Heal Overwhelmed Physicians
Jerry Avorn is a professor of medicine at Harvard and an internist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He’s also the author of “Powerful Medicines: The Benefits, Risks, and Costs of Prescription Drugs.” He wrote an eccentric and slightly polemic opinion piece in The New York Times that connects Marie-Henri Beyle, pseudonym Stendahl, with the current state of primary care treatment techniques.
June 13, 2013
Fox News Says Concierge Medicine Is Now For The “Not-so-Rich”
We came across an article from Fox Business and thought we’d share a laugh. From a leading news source, you’d think they’d have found a more comely way of saying middleclass, working Americans. Something else stood out to us also. They asked, “Even at the lower prices, is it worth it?” Then continued to say:
“[Some] in the industry say the moniker ‘concierge medicine’ no longer fits, as the concept becomes more accessible and mainstream.” What do you think? Should we try to rebrand our sane version of healthcare to something else? Or do we ride the wave that brought us to this point today, from a service that was geared solely for the wealthy? It’s TBD whether or not the effort is worth it. Although there are a lot of versions of concierge medicine. A simple differentiator would be nice.
More Reading
Concierge Medicine, Now for the Not-so-Rich | Fox Business
June 12, 2013
More News Outlets Reporting About Backlash of Hospital Charges
Liz Kowalczyk of The Boston Globe is adding more tinder to the price transparency fire. Her recent article follows patients who are angered by surprise surcharges tacked on to their hospital bills for doctor visits and who are starting to challenging these fees — at times refusing to pay outright!
June 12, 2013
June 11, 2013
CNN Money Interviews Dr. Doug Nunamaker of AtlasMD
Here’s byline CNN ran for their recent concierge medicine article featuring Doug Nunamaker.
“Fed up with declining payments and rising red tape, a small but growing number of doctors are opting out of the insurance system completely. They’re expecting patients to pony up with cash.”
June 11, 2013
Patient complains about being overcharged thousands of dollars by a Napa hospital for medical laboratory tests
Dark Daily published an article saying a community hospital charged Kathy Meinhardt inpatient prices for clinical laboratory testing when she was a walk-up customer. As a result, Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa Valley has found itself centered within a media flare-up.
June 7, 2013
You CAN’T Beat Our Prices At AtlasMD
Seriously, you can’t beat our prices on panels, tests, procedures and prescriptions. Well you could, but we wouldn’t advise it. Keep in mind that AtlasMD’s subscription model might vary from yours. In our case, we’re charging monthly for a principle service that includes 24/7 access to an exclusive doctor, who sees no more than 500 patients. Phone calls, text messages, select procedures (abrasions, incision and draining and more), and more are all included.
June 7, 2013
“Well-known Journalist Blasts Hospitals, Drug Makers, and Device Manufacturers for Lack of Transparent Prices and High Cost of Medical Care”
We had to put the title of this post in quotes because Pamela Scherer McLeod published an article with the same title. She was reporting on a comprehensive and media-stirring exposé that was published by Time on March 4 under the title “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us” (you’ll need a subscription to read the full article). It was written by Steven Brill, a prominent journalist and entrepreneur who founded Court TV.
June 6, 2013
You Can Still Hang Out With Dr. Josh On Google+
The bad news is that Dr. Josh will no longer be hosting his regularly scheduled Google+ Hangouts, though. The good news is that’s because he and Dr. Doug have launched their weekly iTunes podcast. They’ll be discussing direct care start up, operation, and will do their best to answer any questions you submit to them.
However, if you still want to video chat with Josh, you can request a one-on-one hangout here. He’ll do his best to find time in his busy but flexible schedule.