Posted by: AtlasMD

December 23, 2013

Smartphone Cholesterol Checks Could Be A Smart Tool For Direct Care Docs

Cardiovascular Business reported on a new accessory that uses a smartphone camera to measure cholesterol levels. The smartphone system is in development and uses analytical software (this would be downloaded as an app) and a smartCARD accessory that fits over a mobile phone camera. From here, a user would place a drop of blood on a commercially available test strip (similar to glucose monitoring), which fits into a smartCARD reader. The camera phone accessory measures the color change on the strip which the app then processes to display a cholesterol value on the phone’s screen.

According to Cardiovascular Business, the Cornell team found that it takes 60 seconds for the blood sample to change colors, with a 1.8 percent accuracy rate. They tested it on various smartphone platforms and found that their system had a maximum error rate of 5.8 percent, around the same rate as at-home testing kits.

So far there is one drawback: the system in question can’t discern good and bad cholesterols; only a total reading is given. However, tools like these should be introduced into the direct care practice when they hit the market. How cool is it to empower your own patients to be able to do their own cholesterol tests? If you’ve ever tried to lose weight or manage your blood sugars as a diabetic, first off, you know it’s challenging. It takes will and discipline. But tools like these are great because they enable people to track their own progress. People need that connection or lifestyle changes can wind up feeling austere. Although, we don’t have a problem if our patients want to come in every few weeks to get an A1C or cholesterol reading. We’re more than happy to oblige.

Posted by: AtlasMD

December 20, 2013

So Long, Superbug. New Medical Action Video Simplifies Ninja Polymers And MRSA.

Great animation in this informative video! Although we’re not sure is needed to be so — how do we put it — fun. Isn’t it already cool that we developed a defense against a deadly bug that kills 19,000 people a year? Also, we’re curious how these polymers “degrade” and “slip away”? That’s solid creative writing (ninjas, slip away, ha). But they left a lot of the science out of this part. Oh well. Ayn Rand marveled at innovation in Atlas Shrugged, speeding trains and such. For all the market intervention bestowed upon us, it’s good to know biomedicine hasn’t slowed down.

Posted by: AtlasMD

December 20, 2013

Wichita Eagle Spreads Direct Care Cheer

Thanks to reporter Kelsey Ryan who shared a touching Atlas MD story in her recent report on our model of care. She focused on one of our patients, Michael Scheidt, who’s been enrolled in our practice since around the time we opened up. His wife was extremely sick and practically bedridden when he signed them both up for Atlas MD care. Dr. Josh was able to drive to their home and check up on her, which helped them tremendously. Even after the passing of his wife, Scheidt told the Wichita paper that he keeps coming in to see us because it’s “just so darn cost effective.” This was a real tearjerker. Thanks for your kind words, Michael.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

December 19, 2013

And The Red Tape Thickens… HHS Now Demands Free Coverage For Those Affected By ACA

Do you have even an inkling of support for free market policies? A modicum of belief in free enterprise? Here’s a stop-whatever-you’re-doing article from Forbes writer Avik Roy. He reports on disheartening news in light of recent ACA failures.

From Forbes.com > Government Takeover: White House Forces Obamacare Insurers To Cover Unpaid Patients At A Loss

Roy opens with a rally cry, saying, “Of all of the last-minute delays, website bungles, and Presidential whims that have marred the roll-out of Obamacare’s subsidized insurance exchanges, what happened on Thursday, December 12 will stand as one of the most lawless acts yet committed by this administration.” The White House—who’s already canceled Americans’ old health plans, and has botched the system for enrolling people in new ones—is well aware that millions of Americans are going to enter the new year without health coverage. Yet instead of actually fixing anything, they have a new solution. They are going to to try to retroactively force insurers to hand out free health care—even at a potential loss—to those people uninsured through the White House-induced fiasco. Roy asks, “If Obamacare wasn’t a government takeover of the health insurance industry, then what is it now?”

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Posted by: AtlasMD

December 18, 2013

Healthcare’s Horizon Looks Costly, Bureaucratic

It looks like the sky is falling, according to the 2014 Watch List released by the Physicians Foundation. Sure, we paraphrased a bit here but there’s not much that docs are optimistic about except the repealing of the Medicare sustainable growth-rate formula.

“While the promise of a better future for healthcare remains, the current path is leading us toward a more monopolistic, bureaucratic and costly healthcare system,” Lou Goodman, Physicians Foundation president and Texas Medical Association executive vice president and CEO, said in a news release. “It is critical for policymakers to more regularly seek the counsel of physicians as they begin to implement health reform, since they are the true voice in determining the future of patient care.”

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Posted by: AtlasMD

December 16, 2013

The Doctor Will See You All Now

We thought Time was kidding when they wrote about something called “shared medical appointments, or group visits.” But no, evidently this group therapy approach to medical care is gaining popularity. Could it be a more satisfying way to see your doctor? It’s too early to tell, but either way, we’re excited here at Atlas MD. Security issues aside, we’re behind any movement that puts the patients in the driver seat. As is the case here when we Tweet with clients, the patients have to provide authorization and be comfortable talking about themselves in front of other people.

You might be thinking, this is ludicrous. But when it comes to diabetics, it makes perfect sense. Taking care of that condition is a full-time job, and as much as family, friends, and even docs, can empathize, there’s no replacement for people who’ve gone through the same ordeal you have.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

December 16, 2013

The Third Medical Billing Option — DIY

Practitioners always need to decide how they’re going to get paid. Of course, if you’re in the fee-for-service world, your payment is inextricably linked to billing codes. But the goal is same for any doctor — garner maximum revenues with minimal costs while not compromising the quality of services. Let’s for now assume you haven’t transitioned to direct care. Your first option would be in-house billing.

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Posted by: AtlasMD

December 14, 2013

ACA Cancels New York Creatives’ Coverage

Anemona Hartocollis wrote in The New York Times, “Many in New York’s professional and cultural elite have long supported President Obama’s health care plan. But now, to their surprise, thousands of writers, opera singers, music teachers, photographers, doctors, lawyers and others are learning that their health insurance plans are being canceled and they may have to pay more to get comparable coverage, if they can find it.”

Touche. Get a lot of people to vote for something by promising universal benefits for all. Then fail to benefit not only the people you promised to help, but also the law’s supporters. This seems like solid politics.

New York developed an unusual, informal health insurance system where independent practitioners were able to get lower insurance rates through group plans. These were typically set up by their professional associations or chambers of commerce. These people were able to avoid the sky-high rates in New York’s individual insurance market, (historically among the most expensive in the country).

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Posted by: AtlasMD

December 13, 2013

Is Health Care In One Place The Right Place?

After reading this post about the rollout of Verizon’s Converged Health Management platform, we started thinking about centralized healthcare data. If you guessed that we’re conflicted about it, then you know us well.

Med City News claims, “All-encompassing patient engagement solutions are inevitable.” But current concerns over health IT regulations and healthcare reform are apparently delaying implementation.

“Industry trends that are in the works are putting a burden on our customers,” said Julie Kling, Verizon’s director of product management, mobile health solutions. “Healthcare reform is having an impact.”

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Posted by: AtlasMD

December 13, 2013

Direct Care Inspires New Generation Of Physician

Brian Gans is seeing family medicine in a new light. He shared his passion for direct primary care in a new blog post that’s making the rounds in our online community. This first sentence is simply prophetic. Brian writes, “When I first entered medical school, I was very attracted to family medicine as a discipline, but I wasn’t attracted to practicing in a model that limited me to less than 15 minutes of face time per patient…”

Seriously, how can we expect our nation’s current, and widening, doctor shortage to be abated when students are confronted with the grim reality of hamster wheel medicine? And don’t forget the red tape. It’s sticky, and will require the majority of med student’s future to offset. Brian, like many students, is aware that fee-for-service medicine requires 45 minutes of paperwork to get reimbursed for every 15 minutes of work. There’s little to no room for innovation in this type of environment.

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