From the time I started working as a nurses’ aide in a nursing home while a high-school student, I have known how gratifying it is to help others. The more I have learned about helping people with their health issues, the greater the gratification has grown. I never tire of hearing peoples’ stories, of connecting with them, of helping to sort out their problems, and explaining to them their options in dealing with those problems. Medical care is about sorting out the problems, explaining options, and enabling the person to make choices to help themselves live the best life they can. Doctors really don’t take care of people, they help people take care of themselves. The more a person understands their health problems and treatment, the better they will be able to deal with those problems. Then they can get on with their life, in spite of whatever health issues they have.
This process takes time and, unfortunately, in our health care system, everyone seems to be too busy to sit down and sort things out. I believe if the time is invested initially to find out the most information available by having a thoughtful conversation, that health care will be more effective and efficient in the long run. Unnecessary testing can be avoided, saving time, money, and potential risk. A patient should have all the information they need to make good decisions about what testing to get and what treatment to have. There are many choices available both in testing and in treatment, and thoughtful evaluation of those choices can result in the most time- and cost-effective treatment. No treatment is likely to be helpful if the time hasn’t been taken to determine the correct diagnosis first. The best health care requires a collaborative relationship between the patient and the healthcare providers, with ongoing give-and-take to fine-tune care.
My goal is to provide medical care on the most basic level, that is between the doctor and the patient, with a minimum of intervening factors. Health insurance is necessary for unforeseen, major expenditures, but for routine day-to-day primary care, the interference of health insurance has disrupted basic patient-doctor interactions. Paperwork to insurance companies ties up physician time, involves multiple other people seeing a patient’s personal medical information, increases overhead costs, and limits treatment choices, all without doing anything to improve the actual quality of care. By not processing insurance claims and not “participating” with insurance companies, I can provide high quality medical care at a reasonable cost. Medical decisions can be made between the physician and the patient according to what makes the most sense, not according to what the insurance company allows.
I value patients’ time as much as my own. By avoiding all the extra overhead of large staffing and insurance billing, I can see a patient for a half an hour instead of 10 minutes. I can schedule 10 patients a day instead of the average 25 to 30 patients a day most doctors see. I can minimize waiting times and provide flexibility in scheduling. I can actually know my patients, which makes providing quality care so much easier. In short, I can provide the kind of medical care that I would want for myself or for my loved ones.
Updated 11-17-2014 jb
This process takes time and, unfortunately, in our health care system, everyone seems to be too busy to sit down and sort things out. I believe if the time is invested initially to find out the most information available by having a thoughtful conversation, that health care will be more effective and efficient in the long run. Unnecessary testing can be avoided, saving time, money, and potential risk. A patient should have all the information they need to make good decisions about what testing to get and what treatment to have. There are many choices available both in testing and in treatment, and thoughtful evaluation of those choices can result in the most time- and cost-effective treatment. No treatment is likely to be helpful if the time hasn’t been taken to determine the correct diagnosis first. The best health care requires a collaborative relationship between the patient and the healthcare providers, with ongoing give-and-take to fine-tune care.
My goal is to provide medical care on the most basic level, that is between the doctor and the patient, with a minimum of intervening factors. Health insurance is necessary for unforeseen, major expenditures, but for routine day-to-day primary care, the interference of health insurance has disrupted basic patient-doctor interactions. Paperwork to insurance companies ties up physician time, involves multiple other people seeing a patient’s personal medical information, increases overhead costs, and limits treatment choices, all without doing anything to improve the actual quality of care. By not processing insurance claims and not “participating” with insurance companies, I can provide high quality medical care at a reasonable cost. Medical decisions can be made between the physician and the patient according to what makes the most sense, not according to what the insurance company allows.
I value patients’ time as much as my own. By avoiding all the extra overhead of large staffing and insurance billing, I can see a patient for a half an hour instead of 10 minutes. I can schedule 10 patients a day instead of the average 25 to 30 patients a day most doctors see. I can minimize waiting times and provide flexibility in scheduling. I can actually know my patients, which makes providing quality care so much easier. In short, I can provide the kind of medical care that I would want for myself or for my loved ones.
Updated 11-17-2014 jb