Looking at the way the government is doling out money these days, I have a proposal to help improve people's health and our system of care. What if the government gave each person $365 of their tax money back to be spent on primary health care?
The attraction for the doctor would be no billing hassles, no massive insurance coding system, no extensive overhead, and no bogus pay-for-performance schemes that cost more than they save. The infusion of money would also bolster primary care and might make it more attractive to new doctors over the long haul.
For primary care doctors, a $1 per patient per day would make for
reasonable income from a smaller group of patients than most of see
now. Patients would get more time with their doctor when they need it.
There would be fewer office visits just so the doctor can get paid for
giving advice. - WSJ
It's interesting to read this solution for primary care, where on my earlier post today, experts are discussing the data that confirms our experience as patients that primary care is in crisis. One of the big issues they discuss is the 30 15-minute visits they need to deliver each day. (15% of patients leave the doctor's office not knowing what happened.)
Now, how do you deliver quality preventive healthcare when you have 15 minutes to spend diagnosing, developing a relationship, scheduling regular tests, etc.
Now, here's one way to create a system of income that will allow a doctor to generate the income to make the career attractive, pay off their school loans, staff an office and allow time to invest in your patient's healthcare needs. It's one way.
What do you think?
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