Posted by: AtlasMD

October 29, 2014

THE HILL: The Pinch of the Primary Care Bottleneck

“According to a 2013 study by the Commonwealth Fund, 26 percent of 2,000 Americans surveyed said they waited six days or more for a doctor’s appointment when they were sick or needed care.”

If that snippet isn’t enough to convince you DPC is the way to go (you know, the whole same day scheduling, home visit thing), then maybe nothing will.

But in a world where a traditional primary care physician has 2,000 patient charts on her desk and must spend 17.4 hours per day to provide them with adequate care, the truth is that the fluidity of DPC is better for everyone. In a nutshell, physicians are doing what they love (caring for patients and as a result loving their jobs) and patients are getting what they deserve (quality healthcare in an available, comfortable format).

Plus, did you know DPC integrates with the ACA? 

“…the ACA allows DPC practices to offer coverage in the health insurance exchanges when combined with a wraparound catastrophic insurance policy provided by a qualified health plan (QHP). The QHP is used for hospitalization, specialty care and other more costly services. To date, there are no DPC practices operating in the federally facilitated exchanges, but the first DPC offering paired with a QHP will be available in the Washington state exchange in January 2015.”

Bottleneck, busted.

Posted by: AtlasMD

October 10, 2014

Michigan Takes a Step Back… To The Basics of Healthcare.

In Lansing, Michigan, the Senate Committee has decided SB 1033 will move forward. According to the Direct Primary Care Journal, the bill expands access to Direct Primary Care Service by “assuring physicians who convert their practice to a Direct Primary Care Service model that the administrative burden associated with insurance regulations will not interfere with their treatment of patients.”

Those supporting the bill are doing so on the grounds of logic and common sense: a direct result of Direct Care is quality healthcare from spending less money and more time. In fact, employers who adopt health plans featuring Direct Care not only give the gift of better healthcare to employees, but save up to 30% compared to more traditional insurance programs. The benefits continue:

“Widespread adoption of this care model could potentially turn the tide on primary care physician shortages in our state. It would yield an effective doubling of the capacity of current primary care physicians and expand access to care in rural communities. Doctors would finally be able to spend more time with individual patients and effectively put an end to ‘fast food’ health care.”

Just one more way the Direct Care movement gains momentum as the battle for better patient care and passionate careers for physicians rages on across the United States.

Posted by: AtlasMD

September 25, 2014

North Kingstown, RI Welcomes DPC to the Area.

After just one month in business, Dr. Lauren Hedde successfully enrolled a whopping 50 patients in her Direct Primary Care practice, the first of its kind in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. It would appear her patients also share the values of Direct Primary Care.

Dr. Hedde strives to provide personalized, individualized care, which is why she plans to cap out at 700 patients. Doing this will allow her to spend more time with each patient. In fact, her initial consultations typically last longer than an hour. In true Direct Care fashion, Dr. Hedde does everything in her power to make sure her patients are cared for, and comfortable. That includes seeing newborn babies in their homes during their first month of life. Everyone’s a priority in Dr. Hedde’s practice.

We’d like to congratulate Dr. Hedde on a great start to what we think will be a flourishing career!  

Posted by: AtlasMD

September 2, 2014

Are Patient Portals Really Relevant?

Patients say the answer is no.

If this shocks you, the rest of the stats will really throw you for a loop. According to Mobi Health News,

  • 49 percent of patients know their doctor’s office offers a patient portal (but don’t necessarily use it)
  • 40 percent were not aware of a patient portal offering
  • The remaining 11 percent of patients know their doctor doesn’t offer one

When a patient portal does it right, it offers helpful articles in addition to account status, a way to get in touch with the doc, or even join an online forum to discuss what other patients within the portal might be going through. But even if all these stars are aligned, even if the portal exists, and the patient knows about it, who’s to say they’ll actually use it? Read more