Posted by: AtlasMD

December 18, 2014

Introducing the Atlas.md Community Forum

Atlas.md Community Forum OpeningWe’re excited to announce the launch of Atlas.md’s Community Forum, where participating users can see how others are interacting with the app, ask questions or advice from those who are in similar situations, and even request features.

Atlas.md EMR users continue to find new and interesting ways to integrate the EMR into their practice, and they’re talking about it. By providing users a way to spread the word, our goal is to pull the DPC community together in the name of better patient care. Here’s how the forum works:

  • Ask Questions: Ask a fellow user, ask the Atlas.md team. Either way, get feedback from someone who understands what you’re going through.
  • Request a Feature: Wonder if anybody else wishes that button existed inside Atlas.md? Find out, and get a response from Atlas.md on what the plans are for adding it.
  • Get Status Updates: If we’re running an update, or experiencing the rare occasion of downtime, we’ll make sure the information is visible so you don’t have to go searching for answers.
  • Make Friends: We’re all in the same boat, with the same goal of providing patient-centric care while falling back in love with our jobs every day. Being able to talk to someone about all that is fantastic.

The Community Forum is open, so go check it out here!

Posted by: AtlasMD

December 17, 2014

KevinMD: Setting the Record Straight

Dr. Neuhofel, family physician and owner of NeuCare Family Medicine is ready to set the record straight. He took the time to tackle a few of the most widely spread rumors, including affordability and Dr. shortage.

Myth #1: DPC is Too Expensive

  • Many DPC clinics were founded to help those who were struggling to afford care through traditional healthcare.
  • “Concierge” doesn’t mean “high priced.” Rather, most DPC clinics charge on the lower end of the retainer spectrum, landing somewhere in the $30-50/month range.
  • Savings are passed back to the patient in more ways than one: “discounts on labs, diagnostic testing, medications, procedures and more.”

“Just last week, I was able to provide nine doses of sumatriptan to a new patient for $8.12. She had previously been paying more than $100 per month through her insurance for the same amount of the drug.”

Read more

Posted by: AtlasMD

December 4, 2014

A Better Home for Traditional Docs

It’s not that physicians of traditional primary care don’t know what they’re doing. It’s not that they’re bad at their jobs. It’s not that they don’t care about their patients, or are incapable of making eye contact during an appointment.

The problem with how traditional docs perform is a result of something much worse.

It’s an environment that allows talent to be used at less than its full potential. It’s knowledge being hidden behind a wall of rules that prevents it from shining through. It’s a flawed system that spends so much time communicating internally that it can’t effectively communicate to those who need it most: patients.

Physicians in a traditional healthcare setting went through medical school just like the rest. They have what it takes. They got into the business to help people, but the setting they find themselves in is more conducive to sticking with the red tape rather than sticking it to the red tape. And that means paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork.

Many docs have already found a better home. One that puts them in control and gives them the kind of life they dreamed of in med school. One that serves their patients by providing them proactive healthcare and time. Ahh, time. Life under this roof challenges them to be better, think outside the box, and push their own limits. This life they’ve found? It doesn’t revolve around paperwork.

The Direct Care movement is in full swing, and it’s calling those physicians who feel… stuck. Disillusioned. Trapped. But it’s also calling physicians who feel invigorated, entrepreneurial, and inspired.

There’s room for everyone here.

Posted by: AtlasMD

November 25, 2014

Disillusioned Physicians Learn about DPC.

It doesn’t take long for the true colors of healthcare’s current condition to shine through.

“I’ve only been in practice for a year and I’m already disillusioned,” said Levis. “I think we spend more of our time doing paperwork than we spend taking care of people. I’m here to explore this concept of direct primary care and learn about its viability.” – Erika Levis, M.D., of Pleasant Hill, Iowa

Levis, along with nearly 40 other family physicians from around the country recently gathered for a workshop to learn everything they could about Direct Primary Care. Many of them had questions about how they could make the model work for them. They quickly learned they had options – that the model is flexible and with some hard work and research, they could make their practice exactly what they’d always dreamed of. Angela Kerschner, MD is already taking advantage of this versatility. Read more

Posted by: AtlasMD

November 24, 2014

The Right People are Asking the Right Questions.

RightPeopleRightQuestions2

It’s a great time in healthcare.

Not only because more and more Direct Primary Care practices are popping up all over the country. Not only because patients are spreading the word about how DPC is working for them. And not only because now more than ever, doctors actually want to practice medicine.

There’s another reason why it’s such a great time to be in healthcare amid swirling chaos in the form of health insurance, doctor burnout and misinformation.

Medical students are asking for DPC training. 

And what’s better, the DPC community is willing to teach it.  Read more

Posted by: AtlasMD

November 20, 2014

Medium.com: Sharing is the Future of Healthcare

Susannah Fox sheds light on something so many people take for granted in her recent article for Medium.com. Sharing.

Time is of the Essence.

Fox shares a story of a patient with a very rare condition who took it upon herself to track her medications’ interactions. It’s because of this she was able to refuse a certain prescribed medications that could have been lethal to her. When met with resistance from the prescribing doctor, she had to defend herself against the argument that, “for 20 years he has been telling all his patients to take it and no one else has ever complained.”

The particularly frightening portion of this story is that the physician prescribed without checking how the medications would interact with each other. Equally disturbing is that he then challenged the patient, attempting to coerce her into submission.

Maybe he had a reason for doing what he did. Maybe he didn’t have the time to do his research. Maybe he was in a rush to get to his next patient. Who knows.

But that sigh of relief you just heard? That came from all the Direct Primary Care physicians out there who don’t have to worry about such things as rushing from one patient to the next, or not having time to do research. Because the DPC model is not reliant upon meeting quotas, making a certain amount of money, or owing anything to big pharma. Read more

Posted by: AtlasMD

November 19, 2014

What Really Happens When You Cut the Red Tape?

Dr. Michael D. Shaw takes us to the heart of what Direct Primary Care is all about in his recent contribution to HealthNewsDigest.com.

“The doctor/patient relationship has deteriorated precisely because the patient is no longer the client.”

The moment physicians are forced to turn their attention from a patient, hold up one finger as if to say, “Hold on.” and become engaged elsewhere is the very moment the doctor patient relationship begins to break down. It’s all traced back to the fact that physicians must see so many patients in such a short amount of time… and are therefore forced to spend on average a mere 7 minutes with them during the appointment.

Third parties. Insurance. Bureaucracy. Read more

Posted by: AtlasMD

November 5, 2014

Kevin.MD: Healthcare Has Failed at Customer Service

But according to Dr. Rusnak, a family medicine resident, that’s all about to change thanks to Direct Care and other business models like it.

“There are a few physicians ahead of the curve right now. They get it and fully understand that the industry is changing. You may call it the consumerization of health care. I call it paying attention to the entirety of a doctor’s appointment.”

One Medical Group is a Primary Care practice that offers patients who are willing to pay an additional $150 per month many of the same features you’ll find in the ever-growing Direct Care model. A relaxing atmosphere, appointments that last as long as the patient needs them to, and no wait times. Oh, and smiling staff members.  Read more

Posted by: AtlasMD

October 30, 2014

REBEL.MD: The War on Physicians Escalates

The Sunshine Act attempts to shed light on a potential ulterior motive of physicians influenced by exterior perks, but in what seems to be the latest attack on physicians, Direct Primary Care advocates like Dr. Cavale are fighting back.

“After nearly 20 years of clinical practice, I have yet to encounter even one instance where I felt I prescribed a drug or referred a patient for a test under the influence of a payment or gift from a pharmaceutical company… Our loyalty is and should be to our patient only and patient benefit should be our criteria while prescribing a drug or device.”

Dr. Cavale is in the DPC business to create trust between he and his patients, not tear it down with seemingly unsubstantiated claims.

“The Sunshine Act adds one more suggestion that patients should distrust their doctors. I am not surprised that leaders of both political parties gang up against physicians, but I am astonished that the major media outlets have bought into this notion, without asking for evidence of conflict. Could it be possible that these actions are a concerted effort by those in power to force patients to accept government-prescribed cook-book medical care as the only option available to them, by forcing physicians to be mere pawns in this chess game? Someone tell me it ain’t so!”

But take solace in the fact that word of mouth is powerful. Very powerful. So, may the patients of Direct Primary Care clinics tell the world about the positive experiences they have with their physicians. May they spread the word about how DPC docs put their patients first.

May they declare with confidence that they trust their Direct Primary Care physicians, and in doing so put this whole thing to rest. Once and for all. 

Posted by: AtlasMD

October 30, 2014

DPC is More Than a Trend. Dr. Wulfers is Proving It.

According to an article published on ILuvLocalPlaces.net, Direct Primary Care physicians who are “making the radical departure from traditional healthcare” have the answers to the negative connotation healthcare carries these days. The positive paradigm shift is reflected in the words used to describe DPC.

  • “… old school care with advanced technology and modern medicine.”
  • “… small number of patients, top notch referrals…”
  • “… access to wholesale medicine…”
  • “… preventative checkups, same day appointments…”
  • “… 24/7 access to your physician.”

Dr. Mike Wulfers of IndependentMD in Missouri is one of the “trendsetters” of DPC, and like so many other physicians, he was unhappy with the way healthcare had been evolving. So he did something about it. As a result, he’s operating a practice that puts his patients first – just the way he always imagined. Rather than facing retirement with a bitter taste in his mouth, he’s able to continue his career in a truly meaningful way. He partially credits Atlas MD’s Dr. Josh for showing him back to what he feels is the root of medicine.

“In March of 2013 we were driving to Florida. On a Sunday morning  I had my iPad and was Googling Direct Primary Care and started looking at the practice in Wichita… I sent the email and about 10 min later my iphone rings and it’s Dr. Josh himself.”  He laughs as he talks about his surprise in how quickly they responded.”

Dr. Wulfers is candid about how his retirement alternative is going for him: “I’m having loads of fun!”