Posted by: AtlasMD

April 18, 2014

Stream The Next Atlas MD Podcast, Episode 16 >

“Medicine is a business,” says Dr. Doug Nunamaker, “And how our nation’s doing it isn’t working.”

Listen to Drs. Josh and Doug discuss Direct Care in the latest episode of the Atlas MD podcast.

Ditching insurance companies and running a successful business isn’t for the faint of heart, but it’s the only way that family care will keep doctors and patients healthy and happy.

However, one of the biggest challenges for a new Direct Care doctor will be the transition. Which is why we recommend that patients pre-enroll in your Direct Care clinic before you make the switch. Feel out which patients are going to join you, and for those who aren’t ready to follow your lead yet, no worries. With the proper planning and commitment, you can help all your current patients find primary care, and run a profitable business.

If you’re considering a transition into this affordable, powerful alternative to the hurried world of fee-for-service medicine, make sure to visit IWantDirectCare.com. There, you can create a Clinic Account to let potential Direct Care patients know where you plan to offer cash-only medicine.

Posted by: AtlasMD

April 10, 2014

Red Tape By Any Other Name — How Medicare Drives High Healthcare Costs

Yes, Medicare pays the medical bills for millions of people 65 and older. And its benefit is tremendous. But recent studies show it plays another huge role in American healthcare: It helps set prices for everyone in the economy.

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Posted by: Josh Umbehr, M.D.

April 9, 2014

Direct Care Is The Most Political, Least Political Healthcare

Originally posted on KevinMD.com

This post deserves a caveat — healthcare shouldn’t be a political issue. When someone comes into my office because they have chest pain, I don’t ask them “What’s your political leaning?” before administering care. And now after reading about the recent delay of ICD-10 in Congress, I realized that my choice in practicing Direct Care was the most political and least political thing I could have done.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

April 9, 2014

Big News — The Real Winner In Healthcare’s Red Tape Might Be The Drug Companies

Looks like the Medicare program is the source of a small fortune for many U.S. doctors. So says a trove of government records that reveal unprecedented details about physician billing practices nationwide.

According to the new data, the government insurance program for older people paid nearly 4,000 physicians in excess of $1 million each in 2012. And those figures do not include what the doctors billed private insurance firms.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

April 3, 2014

How Much Does The Healthcare Exchange Rip Off Young Adults? They Ran The Numbers. The Results Are Grim.

Obamacare still needs more young people to sign up. This will offset the high cost of the older, and probably less healthy people who are joining Obamacare plans. Oh, but then the White House has to coerce a sufficient number of thirty-somethings to join, too. Problem is, the health plans don’t make economic sense for many of these young adults.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

April 3, 2014

Ever Wondered What’s Been Causing All These Healthcare Security Breaches? It Could Be HIPAA’s Fault.

There’s been more than 30 million individuals affected by health data security breaches since 2009. These breaches are swiftly becoming a costly expense to healthcare organizations worldwide.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

April 3, 2014

What Happens When Google And Direct Care Team Up? Patients Get Live Video Appointments.

MedLion Management, Inc. announced today that they will be using Helpouts by Google to offer telelmedicine services to its patients. This is the type of innovation we expect from a national leader in the movement to improve Direct Primary Care. Great job, MedLion.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

April 2, 2014

Direct Care Is The Blue Collar Bootstrap Solution To Our Broken Healthcare System

Yes, it’s true. More and more primary-care and family physicians are launching concierge practices for middle- and lower-income patients. It’s not an April Fools jokes. We literally saw 5 more docs enter the field just this week!

And yes, we’re limited in scope now. But we are radically reshaping how American families get their medicine.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

April 1, 2014

45% Of Physicians Say EMRs Make Care Worse And Cost Practices Money

It’s another case of hate to say we told you so. Looks like for too many doctors, their worst EMR fears have come true, proving to be expensive, a drain on staff and technically inadequate. A total of 45% of respondents to a study said that in fact, patient care is worse since implementing EMR.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

March 28, 2014

Major Insurance Conglomerate To Raise Rates By Double Digits

WellPoint surprised industry experts when it announced it will likely seek “double-digit plus” rate hikes. Insurers still have two months before they must submit their 2015 rates, so WellPoint’s prediction could impact other insurers’ rate-setting plans, Bloomberg reported.

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