Primary care issues- can we survive

www.memag.com/memag/Medical+Practice+Management%3A+Business+Operations/Practice-Overhaul-Contest-Turnaround-help-for-inco/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/479380?contextCategoryId=43934

The article above is about a private practice that is trying to improve business practices without compromising patient care. What I find interesting is the idea that PCP's should see 30-35 patients a day. It's do-able, but not preferable. Patients want more time from their doctors. Doctors need to see more patients as reimbursement per patient is decreasing. The current practice models are not sustainable in the long-term unless all of us join large groups.

Meanwhile, concierge practices see 10-15 people per day and make more money- without having to deal with insurance hassles. More money per patient and fewer patients calling after hours. It sounds great for me, but I can't say the same thing for the general public (especially the general public in the lower 75% income group). As someone with a struggling new practice, I have to choose between the bird in the hand (low reimbursement insurance covered patients- of whom there are many) and the bird in the bush (a concierge practice- where I have to hope that there are at least 250 families willing to give me $2,500 per family to care for them). I definitely need to phrase it as $200 per month.

But with practices going out of business and large group practices being slow to move into some of the new suburbs, the general public is beginning to lose access to health care services due to a lack of PCP's. This is a problem for both the poor and the middle class. I don't have a solution that is workable, I'm just saying this is an unrecognized problem.

http://laissezfairehealthcare.com/2007/12/22/primary-care-physicians-an-endangered-species/

Another aticle addressing the practice of primary care medicine. I can't add anything to this except to say, "yep, he's right".

http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2007/12/bad-medicine-ho.html

And finally, the most comprehensive blog post I found on the subject.