August 6, 2013
In case you missed it, you can watch Mike Rogers impassioned response to the soon-to-be enacted ACA. He makes a powerful stand for American innovation in the private sector. Although he doesn’t explicitly mention direct care, we’re glad to draft behind this convincing powerhouse.
Rogers is the U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 8th congressional district, serving since 2001.
August 6, 2013
The next installment of the Atlas MD podcast is now available on iTunes. You can stream it here. Drs. Josh and Doug drove out to Kansas City last week where they spoke both at a private clinic, as well as on the campus of a local medical school. Some of the students had visited Atlas MD recently, so it was a chance for them to follow-up with new questions. Doug and Josh were impressed how these MBA and D.O. students were already so attuned to the business aspects of medicine.
August 5, 2013
We had a quick update on the survey asking doctors to gauge their responsibility in keeping healthcare costs down. Fox News followed up with a write-up regarding the study. They reference additional research relating to the findings and one quote caught our attention:
“Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a professor of bioethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania, said the survey’s findings are somewhat discouraging, and suggested that doctors must lead health care transformations.” He went on to argue in an editorial accompanying the study that physicians do not have the ‘all-hands-on-deck’ mentality that true reform would demand.
We think his statement could use a modifier. Most, even many, physicians might not have the all-hands on deck mentality. At least not yet. But direct primary care physicians do. Seriously, when Jeannie is sick we run our practice with just three doctors. That’s because we’re not above answering a phone, scheduling an appointment, or cleaning out the fridge if that’s what needs to happen.
August 5, 2013
So we’ve been promoting direct care for years now, touting the freedom it gives us, the time it allows us to spend with patients. One thing we don’t always associate with being a doctor, though, is the entrepreneurship necessary to get a small business off the ground. Joining the direct care movement is a powerful decision for two reasons: one, you’re making the choice to serve patients, not bureaucracy. Two, you’re running your own business.
That said, if you’re running a small business, or plan to run one, you’ve likely conversed about Obamacare hampering the economy. Here’s a recent article from Business News Daily updating how businesses are gearing up for ACA enactment later this year. There wasn’t much by way of good news. Business News Daily reports, “Among small businesses surveyed that will be affected by the employer mandate, one-half said they will either cut hours to reduce full-time employees or replace full-time employees with part-timers to avoid the mandate. Additionally, 24 percent plan to reduce hiring to stay under 50 employees.”
August 1, 2013
We came across an article from The Wall street Journal addressing patient communication. It’s worth reminding our doctors: evidence has mounted that good communication helps patients stick to recommended treatments and manage chronic diseases. It also improves outcomes in the management of diabetes, hypertension and cancer. As primary care physicians in DPC, we’re not always dealing with conditions this serious. However, we’re still prescribing medications. Our ability to be clearly dictate when to take them, and why we’re recommending our patient take them MATTERS.
In a separate but related issue, we mentioned last week that poor communication is more likely to get you sued than making mistakes. Evidently patients don’t want to sue a doctor they like. Although they are willing to file lawsuits against the unfriendly, un-empathetic doctor who harried them through their visit. The WSJ points this out as well, saying “lack of communication, after all, isn’t just frustrating for patients. It can hurt the quality of care, drive up costs and increase the risk of lawsuits. And under new Medicare rules, providers won’t get as much money if they rack up poor patient-satisfaction scores or too many preventable readmissions.” Thankfully, in our line of work this last sentence need not apply. We can’t begin to express how glad we are to NOT have to fill out ICD-10 codes or have our patients pencil in score sheets regarding our service.
August 1, 2013
A ZD Net post reports that during a fireside chat with AllThingsD’s Kara Swisher at the 2013 Data Driven Conference on Wednesday, PayPal co-founder Max Levchin described the inspiration behind his latest startup, Glow. Glow is a mobile app launched earlier this year that’s trying to improve fertility using “big data.” Right now, the app quite literally wants to help women get pregnant, which in such layman’s terms sounds like a parody. But Levchin is serious that this type of app can lead to better doctor-patient decision making, and ultimately trim wasted spending. He’s stated that the company’s goal is to expand into other niches in the healthcare field in order to accomplish this.
July 31, 2013
We found the “Angry Therapist” while reading The Atlantic. Los Angeles therapist John Kim took an untraditional approach to building his practice. He acquired patients through a popular Tumblr blog. Writer Amanda Pelleschi says, “The site effectively harnesses the zeitgeist of internet culture – using memes and hashtags – and pairs it with a variety of classic psychological approaches (cognitive behavior therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, psychodynamic, etc), to bring psychotherapy to the millennial masses.” If you’re intrigued what this “zeitgeist” looks like, check out Kim’s website theangrytherapist.tumblr.com.
July 31, 2013
Workforce.com published an article responding to critics who say that a subscription model doesn’t make sense for direct care. Naysayers suppose that patients stand to waste money if they don’t use the service, much like an unused gym membership. But physician and health care consultant Dr. Zubin Damania, who is working with online retailer Zappos (they’re considering offering a direct primary care clinic to Las Vegas-based employees), had this to say: “Would you use car insurance to get your oil changed or tires changed? I see primary care the same way.” Hmmm, sounds like an analogy we’ve been promoting for a while now.
July 30, 2013
We mentioned New Atlantic Ventures (NAV) earlier in the month. They’re an investment firm backing, amongst many endeavors, direct care entrepreneurs who are helping hospitals insure their own employees. Evidently we’re not the only ones who think Obamacare will increase demand for cash-only medicine. The Managing Partner of NAV, John Backus believes there is a silver lining to forcing states to open a health insurance market and offer price transparency, increased costs due to all the red tape. And with this increased cost will come demand for more affordable options. It turns out that direct care sans middleman is exactly that kind of option.
You can read John Backus’ complete op/ed on Huffington Post.
July 30, 2013
And another doctor adopting “direct care” has gained mainstream media attention. Dr. Juliette Madrigal-Dersch is a physician in Marble Falls, Texas. She’s joined a growing number of doctors who choose to not accept payment from Medicare, Medicaid and private-insurance networks. The Wall Street Journal broke the story, saying, “Fewer American doctors are treating patients enrolled in the Medicare health program for seniors, reflecting frustration with its payment rates and pushback against mounting rules, according to health experts.” According to their research the number of doctors who opted out of Medicare last year, while still a small proportion of the nation’s health professionals, nearly tripled from three years earlier.
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