We’re Looking More and More like Canada
Patients — and physicians — say they feel the time crunch as never before as doctors rush through appointments as if on roller skates to see more patients and perform more procedures to make up for flat or declining reimbursements. It’s not unusual for primary care doctors’ appointments to be scheduled at 15-minute intervals. Some physicians who work for hospitals say they’ve been asked to see patients every 11 minutes. And the problem may worsen as millions of consumers who gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act begin to seek care — some of whom may have seen doctors rarely, if at all, and have a slew of untreated problems. (KHN)
Less time spent with doctors is one of the unintended, but predictable, issues that Obamacare created in the healthcare system. There are always tradeoffs in life. Because people wanted more access to healthcare, everyone will receive lower quality healthcare.
And faster care unfortunately. It isn’t that the doctors are evil and don’t want to see patients. Its that now the way the system is set up, they have to see patients all day at a break neck speed.
But hey, everyone (right) will have insurance, so what’s the problem?
Who cares if it takes 9 months, the bottom line is I’m covered.
Exactly, it’s not called the Quality Care Act, its the Affordable Care Act. It is affordable (?) and that’s all that matters.
This is where consumers will move to the minute clinics as opposed to seeing primary care physicians. Hopefully, the expansion of these minute clinics are a success.
I’d rather go to one of these then a doctors office anytime.
Considering that’s whose health care system we are attempting to model, that’s no surprise to me. These doctors don’t have time for us anymore thanks to the increased government intervention.
I wish I could just pay cash and maybe the doc would actually sit and listen to my concerns.
Truly that’s the way to go. Get third parties out of it, otherwise the doc is working for “them”, not you.
We had an earlier post discussing how health plans won’t pay a physician for more than one thing at a time. This may be a side effect of that (which is also the case with Canada), too.
Come in for three different 11-minute visits for three different complaints, instead of one 30-40 minute visit to deal with the whole person.
How can this lead to so-called “accountable care”?
My mother always told me to be patient and not to rush things because making things right the first time, even if slower, was much better than making things fast but having to redo them several times. It will be more cost efficient and will take even less time. By limiting the time a physician can see a patient will be costlier than what the current system is imposing us.
What is incredibly interesting is that countries with the best health care in the world (most, if not all, of the 36 countries that are ranked ahead of US in healthcare) provide universal health care. How can America treat less people for more money and see worse results than the rest of the developed world?