What’s been the biggest surprise in my telemedicine practice? How appreciative people are. Getting healthcare is a nightmare of paperwork and uncertain charges. Telemedicine is quick, easy and transparent. Patient expectations are so low when they seek medical care, that when they’re exceeded, they’re happy and thankful. And you, as the clinician on the front line, reap the benefit.
Read MoreAlmost everything your Medicare Advantage doctor recommends at your annual visit comes with a conflict of interest. Immunizations, blood pressure medicine, cancer screenings She is graded or influenced to make sure you do all of it. She is allowed to have a certain percentage of her patients turn her down, but too many and she will cost herself money—and find herself under pressure from her bosses. Eventually,...
Read MoreHere’s the deal: Work as an employed doctor. Avoid all the hassle of running your own business. Just practice medicine and nothing else. I’ve done both. The demands an employer places on you far outways the demand of running your own practice. It’s not even close. the ridiculous initiatives that change your workflow, the meetings, the “training,” the EMR upgrades that do nothing to...
Read MoreI got a solid 88% on my first anatomy test. My good friend got a 99. Soon I found he could no longer meet for our early morning study sessions—nor could he tell me why. Seems that one of the professors was under the impression that a high score on the first anatomy test correlated with clinical excellence—how he came to this conclusion is unclear, but it was the...
Read MoreSo that’s her secret! Apple Watch as a Medicare Advantage benefit? It’s not the government’s money anymore, it’s the insurers. There is absolutely no data to support Apple Watches as cost-effective interventions. From a business standpoint, they’re sexy and market well—from saving money on care costs? Who knows. Look for a lot more of this—until competitive bidding shaves everyone’s margins. HIT tax moratorium prevented a 55% increase in Medicare...
Read MoreWhile I’ve been working on the Saturday Quiz, the Q and A file has been filled to bursting, so the Quiz is going on hiatus until I get some questions answered. Here’s the first: What’s the single most unusual method of attracting Medicare Advantage patients to your panel that you’ve seen? Erin A. DO A physician I’ve worked with advertises their “pet-friendly” office. Seniors are welcomed, encouraged even, to bring...
Read MoreIf you’re sharing financial risk in a Medicare Advantage plan, consider contacting one of the large residential care facilities in your area and offering an on-site clinic once a week. You don’t even have to go there yourself, send your NP or PA and just plan on attending one time a month. Your new patients will have great access and you’ll generate significant growth in your panel. I did...
Read MoreI finally found a health system who has the wellbeing of their clinicians as part of their mission statement—but I had to practice telemedicine to do it. Telemedicine services badly need physician labor. And the labor has to be happy to please their customers. In addition, most telemedicine services have an “on-demand” component. There’s no “non-compete,” no significant disruption for the clinician if they decide to simply stop taking...
Read MoreRonnie owned the pharmacy down the street. He was our pharmacist for 40 years. We never got our prescriptions from anyone else. And when my father’s COPD finally went end-stage, he helped us with the cost of his meds. He was the model of what a pharmacist should be. When I entered practice, I was fortunate my little town had another great pharmacy—with a great...
Read MoreI was finishing a routine meeting with my medical director and administrator when another doc came through the door. Her meeting was not routine. She was being called to the principal’s office because she refused to see more patients and do her busy work at home in the evening—she would rather spend the time with her children. I knew her to be an assertive, professional physician. Yet,...
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