May 1, 2013
We’ve all got our favorite websites to laugh at. But I had to share this article about concierge medicine from Business Expansion Partners. It’s not funny enough to be a spoof, but it’s so wrong that I had to address it.
Here’s a list of counter points to their insulting blog post. Read more
April 30, 2013
Here’s a well-designed visualization of how we’ll be wearing technology in coming years. You’ll find some healthcare monitors towards the bottom—bras that measure heart rates and wristbands that track sleep cycles.
Take it at face value. Voucher Codes created the infographic but does not guarantee complete information accuracy. Still, it’s fun to look at.
April 29, 2013
There’s some good news for EMR software. Box, a cloud storage and information-sharing platform used in many different industries, released a statement on Thursday, saying that they acquired an “ecosystem” of app companies and are actively expanding their healthcare offerings.
One of Box’s efforts is to create a downloadable Personal Health Record that aggregates multiple inputs. Basically they want consumers to carry around a digital medical file to take to different specialists. A few of the new companies they acquired focus on text transmission, so its presumed they want to help doctors text information more effectively, too—X-rays, notes, files and the like.
April 25, 2013
I feel like you might be tired of hearing another concierge medical success story. But then again, there’s still plenty of opposition to the model. Which brings up a post about how a concierge doctor saved a woman’s life. (Original link no longer available.)
The post from The DO, a blog for osteopathic physicians, features two doctors who successfully transitioned to the model.
One of the men, Dr. Schneiderman, a Monterey, California-based concierge medical doctor, was ready to leave his home state to practice medicine elsewhere. He was frustrated that he didn’t have actual time to spend with his patients. He tried everything. Working for the prison system, working for the Veterans Affairs system, and none of it made a difference.
April 23, 2013
Doctors considering transitioning to a concierge business model, take note: deductibles are on the rise. Here are the grim findings from a study conducted by Athenehealth between 2009 and 2011:
Deductibles as a percentage of contracted rate have risen by 47% in the Northeast and by 20% in the rest of the country.
April 22, 2013
In case you missed it, Harvard Business Review (HBR) published a new article about “Patient-Centered Care.”
It’s concerning to concierge medicine, though, mostly since the three writers NEVER MENTION OUR FIELD AT ALL. Brian Powers, Amol S. Navathe and Sachin H. Jain do encourage the medical field at large to take note of the service industry, though. Their points are valid, and worth a read. Although they sound faintly reminiscent of a “rally-the-troops” speech that a CEO gives his employees at the beginning of the fiscal year. It’s impassioned, and sounds well-versed, but it’s not always clear what will ACTUALLY CHANGE.
April 22, 2013
Angela Dunn of HL7 (Health) Standards concluded her piece about technology and concierge medicine today.
She relied on Dr. Josh’s expertise and enthusiasm to prove her point. Concierge doctors are “using technology and social media as ‘tools’ to forge more human, more connected relationships with patients.”
April 19, 2013
Life Hacker offers help for abbreviating those long emails that no one’s reading. You might be a master of the inbox, but if you’re finding yourself writing novels, take a look at the pointers below.
April 19, 2013
Angela Dunn cited Dr. Josh and AtlasMD’s affordability in yesterday’s post on HL7 (Health) Standards’ blog. It’s the first in a two-part piece called “Technology Driving New Models for Concierge Medicine and Direct Primary Care.”
Check out her summary of concierge medicine’s key benefits. It’s an effective case for doctors who want to practice grassroots primary care. She sums up the movement saying that it aims to “minimize the need for insurance, except for emergency and catastrophic care, and… eliminate or minimize the high administrative costs for a practice.”
April 18, 2013
The Concierge Medicine Research Collective conducted a three year study and found some promising results.
Most encouraging was news that a third of the households seeing concierge doctors made less than $100,000/yr. An effective healthcare reform needs to be affordable to a majority of Americans. More practices opening up and better technology helping doctors to run their practices all serve to drive the cost of care down. Concierge doctors win. Patients win. Even insurance can win, by paying out fewer settlements. That’s the beauty of a free market.
The survey also suggested that concierge doctors have been able to make steady incomes while expanding their services to more Americans. You can check out the full press release here. It’s worth a glance.