Posted by: AtlasMD

December 22, 2014

Go Ahead, Say It Out Loud. “I Am Direct Care!”

#IAMDIRECTCARE1Whether you want direct care, or embody it, there’s a place on the web for you.

You probably remember the launch of IWantDirectCare.com, which was the beginning of a movement to put patients who wanted Direct Care in touch with docs who provided it. This site’s doing a lot of great things, including proving the demand for better quality healthcare around the country. It’s even grown to include insurance agents in its networking nature.

Now it’s time for the movement’s progression to make its debut on the web, which is why we’re so excited for the launch of IAmDirectCare.com. With this largely socially-centered platform, supporters can show their support from a more individualized perspective.

IAmDirectCare.com captures the stories people share on social media about their wonderful experiences with Direct Care. It also shows supporters of the Direct Care movement and explains the DPC concept in simple, easy-to-grasp terms. Read more

Posted by: AtlasMD

December 19, 2014

If Not Your Doc, Who CAN You Trust?

We hate to hear stories like the one Dr. Frances told recently over at Kevin.md. The picture he paints about his friend who has been the unfortunate victim of not only cancer, but “community” treatment mishaps leaves only one word in our minds.

Chaos.

And that is not the ideal word you want to use to describe healthcare. According to Dr. Frances, several of those mishaps could have easily been prevented if someone were just paying attention to the patient instead of his results. Among these mistakes? The patient was prescribed meds that clashed and is no longer able to participate in lung cancer studies because alternative treatments (also prescribed by his docs) compromised his kidneys.

Dr. Frances has had it up to here. Read more

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 10, 2014

Recommended Reading: The SPEED of Trust

We often get asked for recommended reading lists. We’re delivering! These weekly posts feature one book we highly recommend to learn more about business, philosophy, and different perspectives to help you run your business. Do you have a recommendation that’s not on the list yet? Mention it in the comments!

This Week’s Recommendation: The SPEED of Trust.

Stephen M.R. Covey shows how trust—and the speed at which it is established with clients and, employees—is essential to a successful organization.

With nearly 750,000 copies in print, this instant classic shows that establishing trust is “the one thing that changes everything” (Marcus Buckingham, coauthor of Now, Discover Your Strengths) in both business and life.

Trust, says Stephen M.R. Covey, is the very basis of the new global economy, and he shows how trust—and the speed at which it is established with clients, employees, and constituents—is the essential ingredient for any high–performance, successful organization.

For business leaders and public figures in any arena, The Speed of Trust offers an unprecedented and eminently practical look at exactly how trust functions in our every transaction and relationship—from the most personal to the broadest, most indirect interaction—and how to establish trust immediately so that you and your organization can forego the time–killing, bureaucratic check–and–balance processes so often deployed in lieu of actual trust.

BUY THE SPEED OF TRUST >

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

December 3, 2014

Getting Patients to Take Their Meds is a Work in Progress.

A while back, we told you about a new method aimed at getting patients to take their meds – this one revolved around video games. But gaming isn’t a motivator for everyone, and researchers are trying to find the trouble spot surrounding the lack of adherence to doctor’s orders.

Dr. Steve Leuck, PharmD is a pharmacist and founder of AudibleRx. Dr. Leuck is excited that more research is being done to get to the bottom of the issue, but he thinks success might revolve around patient education.

“When patients understand why they are taking their medications, and importantly, what the consequences are of not taking their medication, they are much more likely to be adherent to their pharmaceutical regimen,” he said.

The studies that have already been conducted looking at things like utilizing pill box organizers, having the pharmacist talk to the patient about the medication, text reminders, even web-based support. But a lot of variance in how the studies were conducted and the sheer lack of studies in general prevented them from coming to any conclusions we can run with.

The case isn’t cracked… yet. But those in the field aren’t done trying.  Read more

Posted by: AtlasMD

November 26, 2014

Recommended Reading: The Power of Habit

We often get asked for recommended reading lists. We’re delivering! These weekly posts feature one book we highly recommend to learn more about business, philosophy, and different perspectives to help you run your business. Do you have a recommendation that’s not on the list yet? Mention it in the comments!

This Week’s Recommendation: The Power of Habit.

In The Power of Habit, award-winning New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. With penetrating intelligence and an ability to distill vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives, Duhigg brings to life a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential for transformation.

Along the way we learn why some people and companies struggle to change, despite years of trying, while others seem to remake themselves overnight. We visit laboratories where neuroscientists explore how habits work and where, exactly, they reside in our brains. We discover how the right habits were crucial to the success of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and civil-rights hero Martin Luther King, Jr. We go inside Procter & Gamble, Target superstores, Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church, NFL locker rooms, and the nation’s largest hospitals and see how implementing so-called keystone habits can earn billions and mean the difference between failure and success, life and death.

At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work.

Habits aren’t destiny. As Charles Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.

BUY THE POWER OF HABIT >

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