Shared Medical Appointments: 5 1/2 min./patient, same old cost

[oscar111]

Outrageous.

Health Extra Home Page

http://www.clevelandclinic.org/healthextra/default.asp?index=12202

latest bad idea from the greedheads who brought you healthcare so bad, 24 nations outlive us. And the UN ranks our health system at no. 37.
No one pays as much as we do, however.
WORLD HEALTH REPORT 2OOO is the source on no. 37.

now, about group dr office visits:

"up to" { LOL ... soon, "always at least"} sixteen patients in a nieety minute "visit session" during which a nurse is the only interacter most of the time, doing what they always do.. check on weight etc and a bit of patient education. The doc simeoultaneously goes from patient to patient , apparently while the nurse{s} are doing their duties, during the whole session.

do the math. Five and a half minutes of dr 'face time' per woebegone patient. Same cost as ever. Used to be seven minutes on average. This cut is never spelled out, but the new arrangement is touted as a great thing.

Just a way to scrunch more patients into the day, same cost per patient, more money for the greedhead practicing "cash register medicine".
"Sloppy with a snarl" .... and a grab at your wallet.

[Book Lover]

1. "But I'm concerned about privacy," you say?

"And every patient signs a confidentiality statement making everything they hear in the shared appointment confidential." (OP link)

Hey, just sign the confidentiality form, and don't worry! Expanding the pool of people who know your health details but are expected to pretend they never heard of them isn't something to be indignant and insulted about!

[oscar111]

2. at first, i thought they meant several DOCS would listen to me: silly me

I thought it meant my presence would be shared with several docs at once.

i thought several doc would listen to me, each from a relevant specialty, to save me from having to repeat my details to each over and over.

"how nice " i thought, at last some progress in healthcare.

I have always suspected that millionaires do their healthcare that way. The docs, i have long suspected, not only make housecalls to millionaires, but several specialists show up at his house at once, one for each nagging ill that besets the fat cat. "Now", i thought , "it is filtering down to average Joes".

what a letdown.

[oscar111]

3. Cleveland = Kucinich's area. I trust the progressives who elected him will

not put up with this outrageous idea.

Sadly, it will surely spread and the sheeple citizens of places like FLA will accept it.

It will possibly become the "gold standard" of office visits in about three years. Then, if you want an individual office visit, you will have to pay five times the price you now pay.

I have always thought it fitting that docs picked that phrase .. "gold standard".. when talking about something in their field that is topnotch. Gold is ever on their little minds. They could have picked many other phrases, like "state of the art" or "top quality" or "highest standard".

[Sugarbleus]

4. Just popped in to comment.

It's curious that I find this thread/subject as I just saw my MD yesterday. As it turns out he too is doing "assembly line" medicine.

I use Medicare/medicaid and live in Calif. My MD is grouped with two others in a clinic setting. There was a day when they gave you all the time it took(within reason) to understand your complaint. Today, I feel like I'm lucky to get even 10 minutes! I don't go every month so I didn't see the trend until yesterday.

I hate "waiting" for my turn BUT I'm fully willing to do so IF I get some decent TIME with my MD. Time to explain and "bond" with the doc about my situations etc.. NOT ANYMORE. We still have to wait and we get less time with the doc PLUS they don't remember who I am or what my chart says without looking. This adds up to a serious medical mistake just waiting to happen, IMO.

My doc was soooooo in a rush with me that he'd ask a question but NOT give me time enough to answer. He'd just go on to another item and then give me the bum's rush. Bye. It was just like an assembly line process. NEXT!

I'm using notes to shove in his face and have some answers ready for the pit-stop service I'm getting. He goes over the long list, picks out what he feels is the most important for the day, asks the question about an item, scribbles a script or whatever, then shuffles off to his next "client". *head spinning here*