Nanker Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 I've been pleased with the general health care that my GP has provided me and my family for the last 18 years, and I'd rate him as above or well above average in the local market regarding his skills and level of patient care. However, he wrote my wife and I a letter last week saying he's leaving his current group practice and striking out on his own using an MDVIP model. We have the option of staying with him or if not, he'll arrange for another local MD to take us on as patients. The cost to follow him into this new and truly "private practice" is $1,650 each, per year. He's limiting his practice to 600 patients. There are some upsides for the 600 patients that follow him, e.g., more personalized attention for maintaining, monitoring, abating health issues, an increased accessibility to the good Doctor, and an annual comprehensive medical checkup. My concern is this. How many more of these "good" Doctors are going to leave the public milieu to go into a more "private" practice? Today I can find another reasonable replacement for him, but what about tomorrow, next month, next year...? I certainly can't blame the guy for wanting to practice medicine on his own terms, and I really don't think it's the money that's completely driving his decision. He doesn't want to be in a practice with 2,000+ patients and be practicing medicine like the hamburger slingers at McDonalds are pumping out burgers. I think it's admirable - on a certain level. If the reports are true, 30 million more people will now have insurance as a result of the abortion that BO has foisted on the public. That books out to about 1 million more people in my state that will be vying for Doctor's care. I calculate that's about 50,000 more people in my County who are going to be trying to make appointments with the current GP doctor provider base - which I estimate to be around 100. Now if half of those Docs move to more "private" practices as mine has, I'm wondering how long will I have to wait to get an annual physical? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Sounds like people are putting him on retainer. So if he covered all your medical needs for an annual retainer fee then there'd be no need for insurance. Interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Sounds like people are putting him on retainer. So if he covered all your medical needs for an annual retainer fee then there'd be no need for insurance. Interesting. Till he sends you to a specialist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 If the reports are true, 30 million more people will now have insurance as a result of the abortion that BO has foisted on the public. That books out to about 1 million more people in my state that will be vying for Doctor's care. I calculate that's about 50,000 more people in my County who are going to be trying to make appointments with the current GP doctor provider base - which I estimate to be around 100. Now if half of those Docs move to more "private" practices as mine has, I'm wondering how long will I have to wait to get an annual physical? If what I'm hearing from colleagues is true, you could be looking at roughly 1/3 (300,000 or so) of doctors retiring/leaving the medical profession in about 4 years time, when the major changes hit. Coupled with what should be a precipitous drop in med school enrollment (I've already told my boys who are 7 and 9, that they WON'T be going to medical school because it's not worth it anymore), and you'll have a fustercluck of the highest order. I'd suggest enrolling with that doctor to ensure that you have someone, and won't be forced to see a NP or PA when the spit hits the fan later-on. Seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Till he sends you to a specialist. Or surgery. If what I'm hearing from colleagues is true, you could be looking at roughly 1/3 (300,000 or so) of doctors retiring/leaving the medical profession in about 4 years time, when the major changes hit. Coupled with what should be a precipitous drop in med school enrollment (I've already told my boys who are 7 and 9, that they WON'T be going to medical school because it's not worth it anymore), and you'll have a fustercluck of the highest order. We're gonna have a schittload of doctors here from India in short order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 We're gonna have a schittload of doctors here from India in short order. They'll still need to do at least 3 years of residency and there are only so many residency slots. The demand was bad enough as it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Or surgery. We're gonna have a schittload of doctors here from India in short order. About 4 years ago my father went in for open heart in Hamilton, Ont. This is exactly what I saw there when spending time in the hospital. Almost all the surgeons, doctors seemed to be 3rd worlders. I have been told by a few people that a lot of Canadian born physicians move to the US. This is one of my main fears in all this. A lack of quality medical staff. Equally worrisome is how is all this going to effect R@D in medicine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keepthefaith Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 They'll still need to do at least 3 years of residency and there are only so many residency slots. The demand was bad enough as it was. You might have a comment on this..... My oldest will be starting college next year. She wants to study in a health sciences field, possibly Pharmacy, Radiology, Physician's assistant or another related field. Several universities here in the midwest offer the undergrad and graduate programs required and in every case, the programs are very limitied in terms of student numbers and very competitive in terms of admission. Placement rates in many of these fields now are quite high. Seems to me that the industry is using the University system to limit the numbers entering this workforce. I'm not saying that's bad but it seems to me that those numbers have to grow now in order to provide the forecasted level of service and in talking to these schools very recently, they don't seem to have any plan to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 You might have a comment on this..... My oldest will be starting college next year. She wants to study in a health sciences field, possibly Pharmacy, Radiology, Physician's assistant or another related field. Several universities here in the midwest offer the undergrad and graduate programs required and in every case, the programs are very limitied in terms of student numbers and very competitive in terms of admission. Placement rates in many of these fields now are quite high. Seems to me that the industry is using the University system to limit the numbers entering this workforce. I'm not saying that's bad but it seems to me that those numbers have to grow now in order to provide the forecasted level of service and in talking to these schools very recently, they don't seem to have any plan to do that. If they want to keep up with demand, they'll have to do something to increase non-physician. That will lead to a severe loss of quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Or surgery. We're gonna have a schittload of doctors here from India in short order. In all seriousness, we already do, don't we? And I hear y'all on the non-docs, Doc. When I first went in for my knee a couple of months ago, X-rays came back negative and the NP suggested a cortisone shot so I could return to work. Um, no, how about we find out what the hell's wrong with it first? The MRI confirmed a sprained LCL, and I've been in a brace ever since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 In all seriousness, we already do, don't we? Not where I live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Not where I live. There are where I live. And, to be frank, I haven't had good experiences with them. Our daughter's pediatrician was from India or Pakistan, and his success rate for diagnoses wasn't all that great, IMO. It was so bad, we brought her over to our GP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Hey no fair Only Democrats are allowed to use personal sob stories Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bishop Hedd Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 He's leaving on that midnight train to Blasdell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1billsfan Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Hey no fair Only Democrats are allowed to use personal sob stories The democrats decided to trash the healthcare system of over 300 million Americans to "save" the 10-20 million people that needed some help. Think exponential explosion of sob stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Adams Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Till he sends you to a specialist. Yeah but you could have a more catastrophic based policy for those occasions. I'd be willing to pay my GP that much money to be able to get a timely appointment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Miner Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Yeah but you could have a more catastrophic based policy for those occasions. I'd be willing to pay my GP that much money to be able to get a timely appointment. Timely meaning one in the near future AND one that they are ready for on time. I know it's called a waiting room, but 1-2 hours is ridiculously excessive. Doctors appointments are getting more and more like appointments with the cable company. My next Dr. appointment is sometime on Tuesday between 8 and noon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Timely meaning one in the near future AND one that they are ready for on time. I know it's called a waiting room, but 1-2 hours is ridiculously excessive. Doctors appointments are getting more and more like appointments with the cable company. My next Dr. appointment is sometime on Tuesday between 8 and noon. Not sure who your doctor is, but I can see my doctor in the same day I need to, and can get my 5-year-old in front of his doctor in less than an hour if needed. I'll gladly pay a specialist to keep that up, but I'm sure this will unacceptable to the current administration, who won't like that elitist power grab on my behalf and consequently hit me with a 40% Speed Pass Tax because it's simply not fair to those who make less than me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdnlng Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 In all seriousness, we already do, don't we? And I hear y'all on the non-docs, Doc. When I first went in for my knee a couple of months ago, X-rays came back negative and the NP suggested a cortisone shot so I could return to work. Um, no, how about we find out what the hell's wrong with it first? The MRI confirmed a sprained LCL, and I've been in a brace ever since. Just because we already do doesn't mean we need more. I don't mean this in a prejudicial way but in theory, you wouldn't get rid of all the Bill's starters and replace them with 2nd stringers just because we already have a lot of 2nd stringers would we? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finknottle Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 Yeah but you could have a more catastrophic based policy for those occasions. I'd be willing to pay my GP that much money to be able to get a timely appointment. MD VIP plans was a service I looked into a year or so ago, simply to find out about the option. It looked attractive, but just a bit too high end. I don't know if it was just that particular plan or not. There doesn't seem to be alot of information around on that sort of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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